Who is this page for?
This page is for healthcare professionals, laboratories, environmental health officers, Health and Social Care organisations, local councils and other partner agencies.
Reporting public health incidents
Prompt reporting enables the PHA to assess public health risks, coordinate appropriate response and help prevent further spread or harm.
Report incidents as soon as possible where there is a suspected or confirmed risk to public health.
What should be reported?
Report incidents including:
- any notifiable disease (signpost to NOIDs page)
- communicable disease incidents and outbreaks
- healthcare associated infections
- environmental incidents affecting public health
- chemical incidents
- radiation incidents
- unusual clusters of illness
- other significant public health incidents
Contact the Health Protection team
Contacting the Health Protection duty room:
- Location: Public Health Agency, Linenhall Street, Belfast.
- Who should contact us: Health professionals and agencies dealing with health protection incidents or queries during working hours.
- Our consultant-led teams are your first point of contact during the working day. They respond to health protection incidents and lead on public health priorities, with surge support from staff across the Public Health Agency during major incidents.
Urgent health protection concerns? Contact the Health Protection Service directly.
Reporting guidance
Access: (I believe we have some of these on our website, should we have these signposted here or available on this page?)
- reporting procedures
- referral pathways
- notification forms
- guidance documents
- supporting resources
How the Public Health Agency (PHA) helps
The PHA provides
- specialist health protection advice,
- coordinates the management of public health incidents and outbreaks,
- supports partner organisations,
- and works to reduce risks to the health of the population across Northern Ireland.
Last modified
05 October 2026