Health Protection Agency Protecting People Preventing Harm Preparing for Threats Alyson Smith Consul

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Health Protection AgencyProtecting
PeoplePreventing HarmPreparing for
ThreatsAlyson Smith Consultant in Health
ProtectionThames Valley HPU
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The HPA How Safe are you at work ? Infection
Control

• Aims of this session
• HPA and blood borne viruses
• A background to the HPA
• What we do
• Other infection control issues that may impact on
  you in the work place

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HPARole Potential exposure to Blood borne
viruses

• Provide expertise/advice in assessment of risk to
  determine interventions required.
• Nature of potential exposure, injury etc
• Source known/unknown
• Risk factors of source if known
• Surveillance data prevalence of diseases in
  specific populations/settings.
• Pre-exposure interventions
• Advise on interventions required

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Examples

• Risk of transmission x prevalence chance of
  transmission
• HIV- from IDU (percut.)
• 0.3 X 0.36 0.001 ie 1 in 100,000
• HCV - from IDU (percut.)
• 3 X 40 1.2
• HIV - from bite from Somalian refugee
• 0.3 X 8.8 0.026 ie 2.6 in 10,000 (1 in
  3,800)
• Risk of transmission of BBVs is very small in
  the community setting
• Protect yourself by immunisation where available,
  good practice and essential first aid.

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The Creation of the HPA

• Getting ahead of the curve published in 2001.
• The HPA was established as a special health
  authority (SpHA) in 2003 by merging a number of
  key organisations working in public health.
• On 1st April 2005, the HPA became a
  non-departmental public body (NDPB), following
  the HPA Act 2004, to provide an integrated
  approach to protecting UK public health through
  the provision of support and advice.

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Who made up the HPA
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HPA Act 2004

• Protection of community against infectious
  disease other dangers to health
• Prevention of the spread of infectious disease
• Assist others who exercise health protection
  functions
• Other functions as agreed with Scottish
  Executive, NAW, DHSS in Northern Ireland
• Supplementary functions, e.g. research, labs,
• training, etc
• Radiation Protection
• Publication of information

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What we do

• Provide impartial expert advice on health
  protection and on providing specialist health
  protection services.
• Identify and respond to health hazards and
  emergencies caused by infectious disease,
  hazardous chemicals, poisons or radiation.
• Anticipate and prepare for emerging or future
  threats.
• Support and advise other organisations with in
  relation to all aspects of health protection.
• Improve knowledge about health protection through
  research and development, education and training.

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Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response
(CEPR)

• Key functions
• - To prepare for and co-ordinate responses to
  potential healthcare emergencies, that could
  involve chemical, biological and radioactive
  materials including possible acts of deliberate
  release.
• -Acts as a central source of authoritative
  scientific/medical information on the responses
  to incidents with wider PH implications.
• - To undertake research into understanding
  infectious diseases and manufacture a number of
  healthcare products, including vaccines and
  therapeutics.

Porton Down
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Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental
Hazards

• Key functions
• Radiation Protection Division (RPD)
• - To provide advice on human health effects of
  radiation.
• - To provide research, laboratory and
  technical services, training courses, expert
  information
• Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division (CHaPD)
• - To provide advice on human health effects from
  chemicals in water, soil and waste, as well as
  information and support on toxicology
• To co-ordinate post exposure surveillance

HQ at Chilton PRD units in Leeds
Glasgow CHaPD units in London, Cardiff,
Birmingham and Newcastle.
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Centre for Infections

• Key functions
• communicable disease surveillance
• specialist and reference microbiology and
  microbial epidemiology
• co-ordinating the investigation of national and
  uncommon outbreaks
• advise government on the risks posed by various
  infections
• responding to international health alerts 

Colindale
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Local and Regional Services

• Regional offices
• Local Health Protection Units
• Key Functions
• To work alongside the NHS, LAs and other
  stakeholder organisations providing specialist
  support in communicable disease and infection
  control, and emergency planning and response.
• Functions include local disease surveillance,
  alert systems, investigation and management of
  the full range of health protection incidents and
  outbreaks, and ensuring local delivery and
  monitoring of national action plans for
  infectious diseases.

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Infection Control in the work place Examples
where advice has been given

• Infested persons and property
• TB
• Flooding
• PPE for incidents e.g Avian Influenza, chemical
  incidents
• Dirty protests
• People with rash illness
• White powder packages

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Thank you

• Questions?