Background
Health protection is the domain of public health action that seeks to prevent or reduce the harm caused by communicable diseases, and to minimise the health impact of environmental hazards such as chemicals and radiation, and extreme weather events.
This broad definition includes the following functions within its scope, together with the timely provision of information and advice to relevant parties, and on-going surveillance, alerting and tracking of existing and emerging threats:
- National programmes for screening and immunisation which may be routine or targeted.
- Management of environmental hazards including those relating to air pollution and food.
- Health Emergency Preparedness Resilience and Response (EPRR), the management of individual cases and incidents relating to communicable disease (e.g., meningococcal disease, influenza) and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear hazards.
- Infection prevention and control in health and social care community settings.
- Other measures for the prevention, treatment, and control of the management of communicable disease (e.g., blood-borne viruses, seasonal influenza).
The protection of the health of the population is one of the five mandated responsibilities given to local authorities as part of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The Director of Public Health (DPH) for North Tyneside is responsible under legislation for the discharge of the local authority’s public health functions.
The health protection element of these statutory responsibilities and the mandatory responsibilities of the DPH are as outlined below:
- The Secretary of State’s public health protection functions
- Exercising the local authority’s functions in planning for, and responding to, emergencies that present a risk to public health.
- Such other public health functions as the Secretary of State specifies in regulations.
- Responsibility for the local authority’s public health response as a responsible authority under the Licensing Act 2003, such as making representations about licensing applications.
- A duty to ensure plans are in place to protect their population including through screening and immunisation.
The DPH employed by North Tyneside Council, is responsible for the Council’s contribution to health protection matters and exercises its functions in planning for, and responding to, emergencies that present a risk to public health. The DPH is also responsible for providing information, advice, challenge, and advocacy to promote health protection arrangements by relevant organisations operating in North Tyneside. This report forms part of those arrangements.