Protecting People's Health
The Health Protection Agency is an independent organisation dedicated to protecting people's health in the United Kingdom . We do this by providing impartial advice and authoritative information on health protection issues to the public, to professionals and to government.
We combine public health and scientific expertise, research, and emergency planning within one organisation. We work at international, national, regional and local levels and have links with many other organisations around the world.
Our role includes:
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Providing impartial expert advice on health protection and providing specialist health protection services
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Identifying and responding to health hazards and emergencies caused by infectious disease, hazardous chemicals, poisons or radiation
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Anticipating and preparing for emerging or future threats
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Supporting and advising other organisations with a health protection role
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Improving knowledge about health protection through research and development, education and training.
Our expertise is provided by specialist medical, nursing, scientific and technical staff, backed by administrative and support functions. We have a network of local and regional teams who work on the ground with GPs, hospital clinicians and other healthcare providers. Our laboratories help in the identification and analysis of disease or environmental samples. We have experts who monitor disease trends, chemical specialists who advise on the health effects of environmental hazards and radiological experts who advise on ionising and non-ionising radiation. Emergency response teams support the country's readiness and response to unexpected threats, both natural and deliberate. Our research programmes aim to develop new ways of diagnosing, treating and controlling disease and establish how health is damaged by exposure to harmful substances.
Protecting Health, Preventing Harm, Preparing for Threats
For more information on our work visit out website: www.hpa.org.uk
