Health Protection Services (local)

Our role

At the local level, Health Protection Services is at the frontline of the agency's activities. We provide specialist support to prevent and reduce the impact of infectious diseases, chemical and radiation hazards, and major emergencies.

Our teams  are involved in a range of activities, including: 

• local disease surveillance 
• alert systems
• investigation and management of health protection incidents and outbreaks
• delivery and monitoring of national action plans for infectious diseases at local level.

The incidents we deal with vary depending on the local population and the environmental risks to their health. Some regions have nuclear plants, major chemical industries, or an increased risk of terrorism. Others may have significant infectious disease problems, such as tuberculosis or HIV infection, and low rates of childhood immunisation.

Read more about the role of health protection units  

How we do it

There are 25 health protection units (HPUs) and nine regional offices located across England. HPUs may cover multiple counties or a police constabulary area. They are staffed by consultants, nurses, and other specialists who work directly with the NHS and civil authorities to deliver health protection at a local level.

Browse the full list of units in the Health Protection Unit directory.

The regional offices support the activities of the local health protection units in their area, and can coordinate more serious incidents. Each office has a director, a regional management team, and specialists in epidemiology, emergency planning, communications and some have  chemical hazards experts too.

The Emergency Response Department, on behalf of the Department of Health, designs and delivers exercises and training across England for the NHS to improve preparedness for incidents such as infectious diseases, natural hazards, CBRN events and new or re-emerging health threats. Teams within the department provide evidence based risk assessment capability to advise on new and emerging health threats and conduct research projects on areas of psychological and behavioural responses to such threats.

Each region is also supported by a network of laboratories to help diagnose health problems. More information is available on the Laboratory Network pages.

Read Forward Thinking, Future Working: Framework specification for local and regional service provision 2008 -2010 (PDF, 123 KB) which explains local service delivery in greater detail.

Robust arrangements between HPUs and local authorities to support outbreak investigation and management are set out in the Model Memorandum of Understanding (MMOU), published in July 2011.

Joint statement commending a model memorandum of understanding between Health Protection Units and Local Authorities (PDF, 469 KB)

The document, produced as a response to a recommendation in the report of the Griffin Investigation Review of the major outbreak of E. coli O157 in Surrey, 2009, is co-signed by  the HPA, Chartered Institute of Environmental Health and the Local Government Group. These three organisations recommend the use of the MMOU as the basis for clarifying the roles and responsibilities of HPUs and local authorities, recognising that local circumstances will vary and that the MMOU will be adapted to meet local needs.

 

Last reviewed: 24 October 2011