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Consultations

Draft guidance on health clearance for serious communicable diseases

Launch date:

2 January 2003
Closing date:

30 April 2003
Creator/s:

Department of Health
Audience:

Health and social care professionals
Copyright holder:

Crown
Gateway number:

Not required

This consultation seeks views on draft guidance to implement a new health clearance policy for health care workers new to the NHS (England). The proposals follow recommendations made by an expert group set up to assess the potential health risks posed to patients from health care workers new to the NHS infected with serious communicable diseases, in particular HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and tuberculosis. The expert group's report is also available on the DH website.

Ministers set up an expert group in 2001 to assess the potential health risks posed to patients from health care workers new to the NHS infected with serious communicable diseases, in particular HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and tuberculosis, and to report back on options to minimise these risks. The measures proposed in this consultation document are based on the expert group's recommendations, which Ministers have accepted.

All new health care workers will need to have standard health clearance for serious communicable diseases. Additional health clearance for blood-borne viruses will be needed for new health care workers who will perform exposure prone procedures.

The new proposals are not intended to prevent those infected with blood-borne viruses from working in the NHS, but to restrict them from working in those clinical areas where their infection may pose a risk to patients in their care. This is consistent with existing policy, which imposes restrictions on the working practices of those health care workers known to be infectious carriers of HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

The purpose of consulting widely on this draft guidance before it is issued to the NHS for implementation is to identify any major omissions or difficulties that need to be addressed before issuing the final guidance document.

The consultation period has now ended. A final version of the guidance was published on 16 March 2007.