Notifiable Diseases
Reporting of notifiable diseases and causative organisms
Registered medical practitioners have a legal duty to report a notifiable disease or a notifiable organism to their local UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Health Protection Team.
List of notifiable diseases and causative organisms
Notifiable diseases
Use the up to date list of notifiable diseases which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notifiable-diseases-and-causative-organisms-how-to-report
Notifiable organisms (causative agents)
Use the up to date list of notifiable organisms which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notifiable-diseases-and-causative-organisms-how-to-report
Who is responsible for reporting a notifiable disease?
- The patient’s doctor (or clinical team) is responsible for notifying the case to the relevant local UKHSA Health Protection Team.
- Prior notification of the disease/causative organism by the diagnostic laboratory does not remove the doctor’s responsibility to report the case.
- When a patient is transferred from one doctor to another, it is the responsibility of the first doctor who forms a clinical suspicion that the patient suffers from a notifiable disease or infection/contamination by a notifiable organism to report the case.
- If laboratory results disprove the clinical diagnosis later, the doctor is not required to de-notify the case. However, they should contact the local UKHSA Health Protection Team if they made administrative errors in the notification process.
- When a statutory notification has been made it must be documented in the patient’s clinical notes.
How to report
- Complete the notification form immediately on diagnosis of a suspected notifiable disease.
- Do not wait for laboratory confirmation or results of other investigations to report a case.
- Report all cases if there is reasonable clinical suspicion that the patient is suffering from a notifiable disease or infection/contamination by a notifiable organism.
- If the case is an urgent notifiable disease, you must report it by telephone to your local UKHSA Health Protection Team within 24 hours.
- Report ALL cases using the Report a notifiable disease Online Service within 3 days.
- If you cannot use the online service, complete the PDF notifiable disease form and send to your local UKHSA Health Protection Team by email or post.
Oxfordshire local UKHSA Health Protection Team:
Thames Valley HPT (South East),
Chilton,
OX11 0RQ
Phone (including out of hours urgent advice): 0344 225 3861
Generic email: SE.AcuteResponse@ukhsa.gov.uk
For emails containing personal identifiable information: phe.thamesvalley@nhs.net