Health Protection

Health Protection is concerned with protecting the health of the population of Forth Valley.

For your interest, the latest Health Protection Newsletter can be viewed via the following link:

• Health Protection Newsletter - July 2011 (PDF 186 kb - 2 pages)
• Health Protection Newsletter - January 2011 (PDF 127 kb - 2 pages)
• Health Protection Newsletter - Autumn 2010(PDF 115 kb - 2 pages)

The Health Protection Team

• Dr Henry Prempeh (Consultant in Public Health Medicine and Environmental Health - CD&EH)
• Carol Crawford (Health Protection Nurse Specialist)
• Maureen Cornforth (Health Protection Nurse Specialist)
• Lynne Brown (Administration support)

Health Protection Function

The Health Protection function is to monitor and protect the public from communicable disease and environmental health risks and to minimise the impact of such risks to the population.

This is achieved in partnership with the Local Authorities and our combined objectives are published in the Joint Health Protection Plan 2010 - 2012. Read more about the local Joint Health Protection Plan.

• Joint Health Protection Plan 2010-2012 (PDF 500 kb - 44 pages)

Publication of an on-line Joint Health Protection Plan was a requirement of the new Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008.

Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008

The Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008 provides an up-date and consolidation of existing public health legislation .

• Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008

This Act enables Scottish Ministers, Heath Boards and Local Authorities to better protect public health in Scotland. The Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 12 June 2008 and received Royal Assent on 16 July 2008.

The updated Act takes into account new information on emerging diseases and recognises the potential for a disease to spread rapidly across the world as air travel has increased during the past fifty years. The Act confers powers to designated 'competent' staff to exclude, restrict, quarantine and detain individuals if required. The list of notifiable diseases had been updated.

Notifiable diseases

The  Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008 lists the notifiable diseases and organisms. Chickenpox is no longer a notifiable disease.

• Public Health etc (Scotland) Act 2008

Table 10.1 shows the numbers of communicable diseases within Forth Valley for the calendar years 2008 and 2009.

Table 10.1 Communicable disease notifications, Forth Valley, 2008 and 2009

Childhood immunisation rates

An additional national target of 95% uptake of one dose of mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) vaccine by 5 years old (with a supplementary measure at 24 months) was introduced in 2006.

In Forth Valley excellent Childhood immunisation rates are achieved across all primary immunisations with the exception of MMR. Uptake for MMR1 is currently between 90% and 94%.

• Childhood Immunisation rates 2008-10

* Please note that NHS Forth Valley Public Health Directorate takes no responsibility for the accuracy or quality of external websites linked to from this page. If you have a query, please contact the Health Protection Team.

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