Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008 Explanatory Notes

Public Health etc. (Scotland) Act 2008

2008 asp 5

The Act – Overview

Part 2 .Notifiable Diseases, Notifiable Organisms and Health Risk States

Duties to notify

Section 15 Notifiable diseases and health risk states: duties on health boards

31. This section places a duty on (1)(a)a health board which receives notification of a disease or health risk state (under section 13 or 14) from a registered medical practitioner either orally or in writing, relating to a patient who usually resides within that health board’s area, to send a return in writing to the Common Services Agency. The return must contain the following information for each patient, in so far as it is known to the board: postcode, occupation, sex, date of birth, the suspected disease or health risk state to which the patient has been exposed, and the patient’s NHS identifier. The health board’s return will not include the patient’s name or address. (2)The return is to be sent no later than the end of the week in which the information is received; or, if this is not practicable, as soon as practicable thereafter.

32. Subsection (4) states that (4)where the notification received by a health board relates to a person who does not usually reside in that health board’s area, the health board must transmit the patient’s information to the health board for the area in which the person usually resides. Subsection (5) sets out that when that other health board receives the information, it must send a return in writing to the Common Services Agency no later than the end of the week following receipt of the information, or, if that is not practicable, as soon as practicable thereafter.