Standard view

1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Infectious Disease (Notification) Act 1889.

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3 Notification of infectious disease

(1) Where an inmate of any building used for human habitation within a district to which this Act extends is suffering from an infectious disease to which this Act applies, then, unless such building is a hospital in which persons suffering from an infectious disease are received, the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) the head of the family to which such inmate (in this Act referred to as the patient) belongs, and in his default the nearest relatives of the patient present in the building or being in attendance on the patient and in default of such relatives every person in charge of or in attendance on the patient, and in default of any such person the occupier of the building shall, as soon as he becomes aware that the patient is suffering from an infectious disease to which this Act applies, send notice thereof to the [F1chief administrative medical officer of the Health Board] of the district:

(b) every medical practitioner attending on or called in to visit the patient shall forthwith, on becoming aware that the patient is suffering from an infectious disease to which this Act applies, send to the [F1chief administrative medical officer of the Health Board] for the district a certificate stating the name of the patient, the situation of the building, and the infectious disease from which, in the opinion of such medical practitioner, the patient is suffering.

(2) Every person required by this section to give a notice or certificate who fails to give the same, shall be liable on summary conviction in manner provided by the Summary Jurisdiction Acts to a fine not exceeding [F2level 1 on the standard scale].

4 As to forms and case of several medical practitioners

(1) [F1The Secretary of State] may from time to time prescribe forms for the purpose of certificates under this Act, and any forms so prescribed shall be used in all cases to which they apply.

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6 Definition of infectious disease

In this Act the expression “infectious disease to which this Act applies” means any of the following diseases, namely, small-pox, cholera, diphtheria, membranous croup, erysipelas, the disease known as scarlatina or scarlet fever, and the fevers known by any of the following names, typhus, typhoid, enteric, relapsing, continued, or puerperal, and includes as respects any particular district any infectious disease to which this Act has been applied by the [F1Secretary of State] in manner provided by this Act.

[F1 7 †Extension of definition of infectious disease

(1) The Secretary of State may direct, in respect of the area of any Health Board or of Scotland as a whole, in either case as may be specified in the direction, that this Act shall apply to any infectious disease so specified, other than a disease specifically mentioned in this Act, and any such direction may be permanent or for a specified period.

(2) Before making any such direction, the Secretary of State shall consult, in the case of a direction which is to apply to a particular area, the Health Board concerned, and, in the case of a direction which is to apply to Scotland as a whole, the Scottish Health Service Planning Council.

(3) The Secretary of State shall give public notice of any such direction in such manner as he thinks sufficient for giving information to all persons interested, and shall notify the terms of the direction to all registered medical practitioners practising or residing in the area affected by the direction.

(4) A direction shall come into operation on such date as the Secretary of State may fix, being a date not earlier than one week from the first public notice given under subsection (3) above, or, in a case where the Secretary of State certifies that an emergency exists, a date not earlier than three days from the first public notice as aforesaid.

(5) Any direction under this section may be revoked or varied by a subsequent direction made in the like manner.]

8 Notices and certificates

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(2) A notice or certificate to be sent to [F2the chief administrative medical officer of a Health Board] in pursuance of this Act may be sent by being delivered to the officer or being left at [F2the office of The Health Board], or may be sent by post addressed to him at [F2that office]

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13 Application of Act to vessels, tents, &c

(1) The provisions of this Act shall apply to every ship, vessel, boat, tent, van, shed, or similar structure used for human habitation, in like manner as nearly as may be as if it were a building.

(2) A ship, vessel, or boat, lying in any river, harbour, or other water not within the [F1area of any Health Board shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be within the area of the Board nearest which it is lying]

(3) This section shall not apply to any ship, vessel, or boat belonging to any foreign Government.

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15 Exemption of Crown buildings

Nothing in this Act shall extend to any building, ship, vessel, boat, tent, van, shed, or similar structure belonging to Her Majesty the Queen, or to any inmate thereof.

16 Definitions

In this Act—

The expression “occupier” includes a person having the charge, management, or control of a building, or of the part of a building in which the patient is, and in the case of a house the whole of which is let out in separate tenements, or in the case of a lodging-house the whole of which is let to lodgers, the person receiving the rent payable by the tenants or lodgers either as his own account or as the agent of another person, and in the case of a ship, vessel, or boat, the master or other person in charge thereof.

17 Application of Act to Scotland

In the application of this Act to Scotland—

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• The expression “Local Government Board” shall mean Board of Supervision :

• The expression “Summary Jurisdiction Acts” shall mean the Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Acts, 1864 and 1881, and any Act amending the same:

• The expression “local authority” shall mean the local authority as defined by the Public Health (Scotland) Act, 1867, and any Acts amending the same:

• The expression “England” in section five shall mean Scotland :

• The powers contained in this Act shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any powers existing in any local authority by virtue of any general or local Act.

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