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  • Public Health Act (Northern Ireland) 1967

    Topics:
    • Good management, good records, 
    • Legal and professional obligations

    Under this legislation, doctors in Northern Ireland have a statutory duty to notify the Director of Public Health if they are aware that, or have reasonable grounds to suspect that, a patient is suffering from one of the notifiable diseases.

    The Act

    The doctor must complete a certificate stating:

    • the name, age, sex and address of the patient
    • the address of the building where the examination took place
    • the notifiable disease from which the patient is, or is suspected to be, suffering

    The list of notifiable diseases can be found on the Health Protection Agency’s website

    • Public Health Act (Northern Ireland) 1967

    Records management considerations

    Organisations should ensure that copies of the notification certificate or counterfoils from a notification book are held securely and retained for the recommended minimum period.

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