Health protection

About the Highland Health Protection team

The Highland Health Protection Team (HPT) includes doctors, nurses, a data analyst and secretarial staff.

The varied nature of the health protection function involves close working with a wide range of healthcare staff across NHS Highland including microbiologists, infection prevention and control nurses, GPs and practice nurses in addition to environmental health officers and partners from a range of wider agencies including Scottish Water and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA).

The Highland HPT works closely with Public Health Scotland which is Scotland's national Public Health body.

Areas of responsibility

The health protection function is a key statutory responsibility for NHS Highland Health Board. The activities undertaken by the HPT are very varied and include:

• surveillance, prevention and control of communicable diseases and environmental hazards for the population of NHS Highland area
• investigation and public health management of cases and outbreaks of communicable diseases such as meningitis, gastrointestinal infections and respiratory infections including tuberculosis
• co-ordination of immunisation across the NHS Highland board area and provision of specialist advice in relation to vaccination and immunisation
• assessment and guidance on environmental health issues including the local public and private water supplies, potential environmental hazards to health, and allegations of ill health due to environmental factors
• working with colleagues to undertake the preparedness work necessary to respond to new threats to public health
• provision of specialist public health advice and leadership to support health staff, local councils and other organisations
• development, implementation and delivery of national and local health protection policies in addition to the development of strategic plans and programmes with health staff and partner organisations - this includes contributing to the Scottish Health Protection Network

Personnel

We are a small team based in Inverness and covering the NHS Highland Board area.

Consultant in Public Health Medicine

• Dr Jenny Wares

Clinical Fellow

• Dr Francis Idebolo

Senior Health Protection Nurse Specialist

• Lynda Davidson

Health Protection Nurse Specialists

• Sandra Dekker
• Phyllis Smith
• William Gaynor
• Rachel Brennan
• Stephanie Douglas
• Eleanor Boyle

Tuberculosis (TB) Nurse Specialist

• Karen McLean

Secretarial staff

• Leah Girdwood
• Zoe Fraser
• Kevin Macleod
• Angela MacRitchie
• Karen Main