Introduction
As a doctor practicing in the UK, your responsibilities extend beyond individual patient care to safeguarding the health of the entire population. A critical component of this duty is the prompt and accurate reporting of specific infectious diseases. Understanding the list of UK notifiable diseases UKMLA candidates need to know is a core professional and legal requirement, linking clinical medicine directly with public health.
Failing to notify the proper authorities can delay outbreak investigations, hinder contact tracing, and put the wider community at risk. This guide provides a high-yield overview of this essential topic, focusing on the 5 key things you must know: what to report, who reports, how to report, when to report, and why. This is a fundamental aspect of the principles covered in UKMLA Medical Ethics and Law: Your Essential 4-Pillar Guide.
Key Takeaways
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It’s a Legal Duty: Registered medical practitioners have a statutory duty under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 and Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010 to report suspected notifiable diseases.
Report on Suspicion: You must notify the Proper Officer on clinical suspicion alone. Do not wait for laboratory confirmation, as this delays public health action.
Urgent vs. Routine: Urgent cases (e.g., Meningococcal sepsis, Measles) must be reported verbally (phone call) within 24 hours. All cases require a written/online notification form within 3 days.
Why Report? Notification is crucial for public health surveillance, outbreak detection, contact tracing, and implementing control measures to prevent further spread.
High-Yield List: Focus on memorising the urgent notifications (e.g., meningitis, measles, food poisoning outbreaks) and common routine ones (e.g., TB, mumps, scarlet fever).
Why Notifiable Diseases are a Core UKMLA Topic
The UKMLA is designed to ensure you are a safe and effective doctor from day one. This includes your role as a public health professional.
Public Health & Professionalism
Your duty to report notifiable diseases is a key aspect of professionalism and your responsibility to protect the wider community. It directly relates to the GMC’s domains of “Good Medical Practice,” particularly those concerning patient safety and working collaboratively with colleagues in public health.
UKMLA Relevance (AKT questions on legal duties; CPSA stations involving public health advice)
AKT Context: You may face questions testing your knowledge of which diseases are notifiable, the process for notification, or the legal basis for this duty. For example, a scenario involving suspected meningitis might ask for the most important next step after immediate treatment, with “Notify the local Health Protection Team” being the correct answer.
CPSA Context: A CPSA station could involve a simulated phone call with a parent of a child with measles, requiring you to give appropriate clinical and public health advice (e.g., isolation, notifying the school). It could also feature in ethics stations discussing the balance between patient confidentiality and public safety.
The 5 Key Things to Know About Notifiable Diseases
This framework breaks down your responsibilities clearly.
Point 1: What is a Notifiable Disease?
A notifiable disease is any disease that registered medical practitioners (RMPs) have a legal duty to report to the “Proper Officer” (usually a consultant at the local UK Health Security Agency – UKHSA – Health Protection Team).
The list is specified in the Health Protection (Notification) Regulations 2010 (and subsequent amendments). It includes diseases that pose a significant risk to public health, often because they are:
Highly infectious (e.g., Measles, COVID-19).
Have the potential to cause outbreaks (e.g., Food Poisoning, Legionnaires’ disease).
Are severe or have high mortality (e.g., Meningococcal sepsis, Rabies).
Are targeted for elimination or eradication (e.g., Polio, TB).
The full, official list is maintained on the GOV.UK website.
Point 2: Who is Responsible for Reporting?
The statutory duty to report falls on the Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) who has “reasonable grounds for suspecting” a patient has a notifiable disease.
This means you, the doctor (FY1, GP trainee, Consultant, etc.) making the clinical suspicion, are responsible.
You cannot delegate this duty, although you can delegate the act of filling out the form to an administrative colleague (you remain legally responsible for its submission).
Diagnostic laboratories also have a parallel duty to report the isolation of “notifiable organisms.” However, this does not remove the doctor’s duty to report their clinical suspicion.
Point 3: How to Report in the UK (The Process)
Reporting involves contacting your local Health Protection Team (HPT), which acts as the “Proper Officer” for the local authority.
Find Your Local HPT: Every region in the UK has a designated HPT. Their contact details are available on the GOV.UK website. This is the team you will phone for urgent reports or send forms to.
Complete the Notification Form: All suspected cases must be reported in writing (or electronically) on an official notification form. This is now most easily done via the online notification service available on the GOV.UK reporting page. This form collects:
Patient details (name, DOB, address).
The suspected notifiable disease.
Date of onset of symptoms.
Your details as the notifying doctor.
Point 4: When to Report (Urgent vs. Routine)
Timing is critical and is based on the disease’s risk.
Urgent Notification (Phone Call): For high-risk or urgent diseases (e.g., meningococcal sepsis, measles, acute poliomyelitis, rabies, food poisoning outbreaks), you must telephone your local HPT with your suspicion within 24 hours (i.e., immediately). This allows for rapid public health action like contact tracing and prophylaxis.
Standard Notification (Form): For all suspected cases (including those reported verbally), you must also complete and send the formal notification form (online or paper) within 3 days.
The single most important rule: Report on suspicion, do not wait for lab confirmation.
Point 5: Why We Report (The Public Health Rationale)
Notification is the cornerstone of public health surveillance and response. Your report triggers a cascade of vital actions:
Outbreak Detection: Identifies clusters of cases (e.g., a food poisoning outbreak linked to a specific restaurant).
Contact Tracing: Allows the HPT to identify people who have been in contact with the case and may be at risk.
Prophylaxis: Enables the provision of antibiotics (e.g., to contacts of meningococcal sepsis) or vaccines (e.g., to contacts of measles) to prevent further spread.
Surveillance & Control: Tracks the incidence and spread of diseases to inform national policy, vaccination campaigns, and control measures.
High-Yield List of Notifiable Diseases for the UKMLA
You are not expected to memorise the entire list of ~60 diseases, but you must be familiar with the most common and critical ones. This knowledge is central to Infectious Disease Essentials for UKMLA.
Table 1: Urgent vs. Routine Notifiable Diseases: High-Yield Examples
| Category | High-Yield Examples | Why it’s High-Yield (UKMLA Context) |
|---|---|---|
| URGENT (Report by Phone within 24h) | • Acute Meningitis • Meningococcal Sepsis • Measles • Acute Poliomyelitis • Rabies • Viral Haemorrhagic Fever (e.g., Ebola) • Diphtheria • Food Poisoning (if suspected outbreak/cluster) • Scarlet Fever (less urgent but report promptly) | Life-threatening conditions or highly infectious diseases requiring immediate public health intervention (prophylaxis, isolation, contact tracing). Common exam scenarios (meningitis, measles). |
| ROUTINE (Report Form within 3 days) | • Tuberculosis (TB) • Mumps • Rubella • Whooping Cough (Pertussis) • Tetanus • Infectious Hepatitis (A, B, C) • Malaria • COVID-19 | Important for long-term surveillance, vaccination programme monitoring, and managing smaller outbreaks. TB is a classic high-yield topic. |
Patient Confidentiality and Public Interest
A common ethical question is whether notifying authorities breaches patient confidentiality.
The Law is Clear: No, it does not. The statutory duty to report notifiable diseases, as set out in law, provides the legal basis for disclosure.
GMC Guidance: The GMC’s guidance on Confidentiality states that you must disclose information if it is required by law.
Public Interest: This is a classic example of when the public interest in preventing the spread of serious disease and protecting others outweighs the individual’s right to confidentiality.
Informing the Patient: It is good practice (and respectful) to inform the patient and/or their carers that you have a legal duty to notify the public health authorities about their suspected illness and to explain why this is necessary. This relates to the broader principles of Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults and Children.
Putting It All Together: 2 UKMLA-Style Clinical Scenarios
Case 1: The Child with Fever and a Non-Blanching Rash (Suspected Meningococcal Sepsis)
Vignette: You are an FY1 in Paediatrics A&E. A 4-year-old girl presents with a 6-hour history of high fever, lethargy, and a new, non-blanching petechial rash on her trunk and legs.
Immediate Actions: This is a medical emergency. You follow the ABCDE approach, give high-flow oxygen, secure IV access, take blood cultures, and administer IV broad-spectrum antibiotics (e.g., Ceftriaxone) immediately.
Public Health Duty: As soon as you have made the clinical suspicion of Meningococcal Sepsis (a notifiable disease requiring urgent reporting), you must:
Verbally Notify: Make an urgent phone call to your local Health Protection Team (HPT) (within 24 hours, but in practice, as soon as possible).
Inform: Tell them your clinical suspicion, the patient’s details, and your contact information. They will initiate contact tracing for close household/nursery contacts who may require prophylaxis (e.g., Ciprofloxacin or Rifampicin).
Formalise: Complete the online notification form within 3 days.
Key Learning: Your duty to notify runs in parallel with your duty to treat. The prompt notification is critical for protecting close contacts. This is a core part of managing High-Yield Paediatrics for UKMLA.
Case 2: A GP Clinic with Multiple Patients with Vomiting & Diarrhoea
Vignette: You are a GP trainee. During one morning surgery, you see three separate patients from different families who all report acute onset vomiting and diarrhoea. On questioning, all three mention attending the same large village fete and eating from the same food stall yesterday.
Immediate Actions: You manage each patient supportively.
Public Health Duty: You now have reasonable grounds to suspect a Food Poisoning outbreak (which is notifiable).
Verbally Notify: Make an urgent phone call to your local HPT.
Inform: Report your suspicion of an outbreak linked to a specific event/venue. Provide details of the cases you know about.
Formalise: Complete notification forms for the cases.
Key Learning: Your role here is crucial in identifying a cluster of cases. Your single report triggers an investigation by the HPT, which can prevent hundreds of other people from becoming ill by, for example, inspecting and closing the implicated food stall. This is a key aspect of General Practice Essentials for UKMLA.
Sample Phone Call to HPT (Case 1)
“Hello, I’m Dr. [Your Name], an FY1 at [Your Hospital] A&E. I’m calling to make an urgent notification of a suspected case of meningococcal septicaemia. The patient is [Patient Name], [DOB], [Address]. They presented with fever, lethargy, and a non-blanching rash. We have initiated treatment with IV Ceftriaxone. I’m notifying you immediately for public health follow-up and contact tracing.”
Table 2: The 5 W’s of Notification
| Question | Answer (UKMLA Context) |
|---|---|
| WHO Reports? | The Registered Medical Practitioner (RMP) with clinical suspicion. |
| WHAT to Report? | Suspected cases of diseases on the official list. |
| WHEN to Report? | **Urgently by phone (within 24h)** for critical cases (e.g., Measles, Meningitis) AND **Formally online/writing (within 3 days)** for ALL cases. |
| WHERE to Report? | To your local UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Health Protection Team (HPT) / Proper Officer. |
| WHY Report? | To enable public health action: outbreak control, contact tracing, prophylaxis, surveillance. |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about UK Notifiable Diseases
No, absolutely not. The legal duty is to report “reasonable grounds for suspecting” a notifiable disease. You must notify on clinical suspicion alone. Waiting for lab results delays crucial public health interventions like contact tracing and prophylaxis, which can be dangerous in diseases like meningococcal sepsis.
Registered medical practitioners (doctors) have a duty to report suspected clinical cases of notifiable diseases. Diagnostic laboratories have a parallel statutory duty to report the isolation of specific notifiable organisms (causative agents, e.g., Neisseria meningitidis from a blood culture). These systems complement each other. A lab report does not remove the doctor’s duty to notify their clinical suspicion.
You must still fulfil your legal duty. The process is usually quick: make an urgent phone call to your local Health Protection Team (HPT). The HPT staff are used to taking these calls and will guide you. You can often delegate the subsequent online/paper form filling to a ward clerk or admin staff, but you remain responsible for ensuring it is sent.
The regulations also state you should report any other infection or contamination that could present a “significant risk to human health.” If you encounter an unusual cluster of illness or a disease not on the list that you believe is a public health threat, you should still contact your local HPT for advice.
Yes, as of current guidelines, COVID-19 (Coronavirus) is a notifiable disease in the UK. This reporting is essential for surveillance, monitoring new outbreaks, and tracking the virus’s impact on public health.
Yes. The list is set out in legislation and can be amended. For example, COVID-19 was added in March 2020. It’s good practice to be aware of the most current list, which is always available on the GOV.UK website.
Your HPT is designated geographically based on the location of the patient’s residence or, in some cases, the hospital’s location. Your hospital’s infection control team or microbiology department will have the correct contact details readily available. Every trust will have a clear policy for this.
No. The GMC’s guidance on Confidentiality explicitly states that you must disclose information when required by law. The statutory duty to report notifiable diseases is a legal requirement that overrides the general duty of confidentiality in this specific instance, as it is in the wider public interest to protect public health.
The HPT will assess the information, confirm the details, and begin a public health risk assessment. This typically involves interviewing the patient (or parent/carer) to identify close contacts who may be at risk. For diseases like meningococcal sepsis, they will arrange for these contacts to receive urgent prophylactic antibiotics. For measles, they may identify unvaccinated contacts and advise on isolation and vaccination.
The single best resource is the GOV.UK page: “Notifiable diseases and how to report them”. This contains the official, up-to-date list for England and links to the online reporting portal and contact finder for local Health Protection Teams.
Conclusion
Understanding your responsibilities regarding UK notifiable diseases UKMLA requires is a fundamental part of being a safe and professional doctor in the UK. Your role is not just to treat the patient in front of you but to act as a crucial link in the public health chain.
Remember the 5 W’s: Who (you), What (suspected notifiable disease), When (urgently by phone AND within 3 days by form), Where (to your local HPT), and Why (to protect the public). By embedding this knowledge into your practice, you will be well-prepared for UKMLA questions on this topic and, more importantly, ready to fulfil your professional duty to society.
Your Next Steps
Bookmark the GOV.UK Page: Save the official “Notifiable diseases and how to report them” page for reference.
Memorise the “Urgent” List: Use Table 1 to memorise the key diseases requiring an immediate phone call.
Understand the Process: Know the “24-hour phone, 3-day form” rule and that you must report on suspicion.
Review Confidentiality: Re-read the GMC guidance on confidentiality regarding legal disclosures.
Practice Scenarios: When reviewing cases in your question bank (e.g., meningitis, measles), add the step “Notify Public Health” to your management plan.
