Health Protection Evidence Driven Priorities & Action

1. Health Protection
Evidence Driven Priorities &
Actions
Dr Lorraine Doherty
Assistant Director
15 November 2017

2. Who are we?
 Health Protection service since 2009.
 Front line regional role in protecting the
Northern Ireland population from infectious
diseases and environmental hazards.
 Doctors, Nurses, Scientists,
Epidemiologists, Surveillance Officers,
Emergency Planners, Admin Staff.

3. What we do
Surveillance and monitoring
of disease
Operational support and
advice to a range of health
professionals/other
stakeholders
Response to adverse health
Protection incidents
Education,Training, Research
Emergency Preparedness
National and International
Liaison

5. Evidence driving Priorities
 Surveillance Data
 Evidence from studies
 Learning from outbreaks and major events
 Emerging infections
 Impact of inequalities on health

6. Health Protection Inequalities
 Infectious diseases - disproportionately
affect less well off in society, marginalised
groups; e.g, TB & HIV in homeless people,
immigrants, BBVs in injecting drug users.
 Immunisation uptake lowest in ‘hard to reach
groups’ – eg MMR in travelling community.
 Work programme to map, evidence for
interventions, action plan.
 Homelessness and health

7. ‘The drugs don’t work’ – Global Action
Needed’
CDC: A pan-resistant
form of Klebsiella
pneumoniae killed a 70-
year-old woman in
Nevada in September.
WHO Global priority
list of antibiotic-
resistant bacteria to
guide research,
discovery, and
development of new
antibiotics

8. Priority Areas for Collaboration
 Gastrointestinal infections
 Hep C in PWID – emerging threat in NI.
 Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance
 Inequalities
 Others?