The Health Protection (Notification) (Wales) Regulations 2010

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations apply in Wales. They place obligations on various persons to disclose information to specified third parties for the purpose of preventing, protecting against, controlling or providing a public health response to the incidence or spread of infection or contamination.

Regulation 2 obliges registered medical practitioners to notify the proper officer of the relevant local authority if a patient they are attending is believed to have a disease listed in Schedule 1 or is otherwise infected or contaminated in a way that may cause significant harm to others. Regulation 3 extends this obligation to cover notification of suspected disease, infection or contamination in a dead body.

Regulation 4 obliges the operators of diagnostic laboratories to notify the proper officer of the relevant local authority if they identify a causative agent listed in Schedule 2, or evidence of such an agent, in a human sample. Regulation 5 enables the proper officer to approach the person who solicited the laboratory test for certain information not provided by the operator of the diagnostic laboratory and obliges that person to provide the information where known.

Regulation 6 obliges the proper officer to disclose notifications under regulations 2, 3 or 4 to other specified bodies with a health protection role.

Regulation 7 enables specified documents to be sent electronically where certain conditions are met.

Regulation 8 revokes 2 sets of regulations.

A regulatory impact assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations. A copy can be obtained from the Welsh Assembly Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ.