scholarly journals Coronavirus legislative responses in the UK: regression to panic and disdain of constitutionalism

2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
Rebecca Moosavian ◽  
Clive Walker ◽  
Andrew Blick
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Individual Rights ◽  
Health Control ◽  
Public Health Risks ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Selection Of

The United Kingdom has considerable prowess in handling emergencies, not just in counterterrorism but also in a wide range of other real or imagined disasters, including public health risks. Core legislation has been installed, including the all-encompassing Civil Contingencies Act (CCA) 2004 and the more specialist Public Health (Control of Disease) Act (PHA) 1984. Despite these finely honed models, the UK state regressed to panic mode when faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than turning to the laws already in place, Parliament fast-tracked the Coronavirus Act 2020, with scant debate of its shabbily drafted contents. In addition, the UK Government has relied heavily, with minimal scrutiny, on regulations under the PHA 1984. The article analyses the competing legal codes and how they have been deployed to deal with COVID-19. It then draws out the strengths and weaknesses of the choices in terms of the key themes of: the choice of sectoral versus general emergency legislation; levels of oversight and accountability; effectiveness; and the protection of individual rights. Following this survey, it will be suggested that the selection of legal instruments and the design of their contents has been ill-judged. In short, the emergency code which is the most suitably engineered for the purpose, the CCA 2004, has been the least used for reasons which should not be tolerated.

scholarly journals A unique measles B3 cluster in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands linked to air travel and transit at a large international airport, February to April 2014

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Nic Lochlainn ◽  
Sema Mandal ◽  
Rita de Sousa ◽  
Karthik Paranthaman ◽  
Rob van Binnendijk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Virus Strain ◽  
Measles Virus ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
The Uk ◽  
In Transit

This report describes a joint measles outbreak investigation between public health officials in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Netherlands following detection of a measles cluster with a unique measles virus strain. From 1 February to 30 April 2014, 33 measles cases with a unique measles virus strain of genotype B3 were detected in the UK and the Netherlands, of which nine secondary cases were epidemiologically linked to an infectious measles case travelling from the Philippines. Through a combination of epidemiological investigation and sequence analysis, we found that measles transmission occurred in flight, airport and household settings. The secondary measles cases included airport workers, passengers in transit at the same airport or travelling on the same flight as the infectious case and also household contacts. This investigation highlighted the particular importance of measles genotyping in identifying transmission networks and the need to improve vaccination, public health follow-up and management of travellers and airport staff exposed to measles.

scholarly journals The microbiological quality of seven large commercial private water supplies in the United Kingdom

2007 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 523-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Kay ◽  
A. P. Wyn-Jones ◽  
C. M. Stapleton ◽  
L. Fewtrell ◽  
M. D. Wyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Water Quality ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Potable Water ◽  
Microbiological Quality ◽  
Raw Water ◽  
Water Supplies ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk

Some 1% of the UK population derives their potable water from 140,000 private water supplies (PWSs) regulated by Local Authorities. The overwhelming majority of these are very small domestic supplies serving a single property or a small number of properties. Treatment for such supplies is rudimentary or non-existent and their microbiological quality has been shown to be poor in every published study to date. Private water supplies serving commercial enterprises such as hotels, restaurants, food production premises and factories are more frequently treated and subject to closer regulation in the United Kingdom. As a result, it has been assumed that these larger commercial supplies are less likely to experience elevated faecal indicator and pathogen concentrations at the consumer tap which have been observed at small domestic supplies. This paper reports on intensive monitoring at seven commercial private water supplies (six of which were treated) spread throughout the UK serving hotels, holiday parks and food production enterprises. Daily sampling of ‘potable’ water, both at the consumer tap and using large volume filtration for Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. was conducted over two six week periods in the spring and autumn of 2000. This allowed the effects of short term episodic peaks in faecal indicator and pathogen concentration to be quantified. All the supplies experienced intermittent pathogen presence and only one, a chlorinated deep borehole supply, fully complied with UK water quality regulations during both periods of sampling. Poor microbiological water quality typically followed periods of heavy rainfall. This suggests that the design and installation of such systems should be undertaken only after the likely range of raw water quality has been characterised, which requires a thorough understanding of the effects of flow and seasonality on raw water quality. There is no reason to suspect that the monitored sites are uncharacteristic of other commercial supplies and the results reinforce public health concerns related to domestic supplies. Furthermore, the pattern of contamination is highly episodic, commonly lasting only a few days. Thus, the relatively infrequent regulatory monitoring of such supplies would be unlikely to identify the poor water quality episodes and does not provide the data necessary for public health protection. Although some statistical relationship was found between faecal indicator organisms and the presence of pathogens, the use of FIOs in assessments of regulatory compliance may not always provide a reliable measure of public health risk, i.e. indicator absence does not preclude pathogen presence. The results of this study suggest that a risk assessment system similar to the WHO ‘Water Safety Planning’ approach might offer a more appropriate regulatory paradigm for private water supplies.

scholarly journals Mapping, Assessing and Improving Legal Preparedness for Pandemic Flu in the United Kingdom

2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graeme T. Laurie ◽  
Kathryn G. Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Essential Feature ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
The Face ◽  
International Obligations ◽  
Pandemic Flu ◽  
The Uk

This article assesses the legal framework within which responses are deployed in the United Kingdom in the face of a pandemic such as the current H1N1 crisis or some other public health emergency. It begins with an account of the importance of legal preparedness as an essential feature of public health preparedness. It moves to an outline of the key legal provisions and parameters which provide the architecture for the existing framework in the UK, both domestically and internationally; thereafter, it identifies relevant factors that can be used to assess the efficacy of current legal preparedness, drawing on comparative experiences. Finally, it offers recommendations on how legal preparedness could be improved within the United Kingdom and in line with international obligations.

scholarly journals Assessment of the Public Health Threats Posed by Vector-Borne Disease in the United Kingdom (UK)

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolyon Medlock ◽  
Kayleigh Hansford ◽  
Alexander Vaux ◽  
Ben Cull ◽  
Emma Gillingham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Surveillance Systems ◽  
Mosquito Vector ◽  
Vector Surveillance ◽  
Vector Borne Disease ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
The Uk

In recent years, the known distribution of vector-borne diseases in Europe has changed, with much new information also available now on the status of vectors in the United Kingdom (UK). For example, in 2016, the UK reported their first detection of the non-native mosquito Aedes albopictus, which is a known vector for dengue and chikungunya virus. In 2010, Culex modestus, a principal mosquito vector for West Nile virus was detected in large numbers in the Thames estuary. For tick-borne diseases, data on the changing distribution of the Lyme borreliosis tick vector, Ixodes ricinus, has recently been published, at a time when there has been an increase in the numbers of reported human cases of Lyme disease. This paper brings together the latest surveillance data and pertinent research on vector-borne disease in the UK, and its relevance to public health. It highlights the need for continued vector surveillance systems to monitor our native mosquito and tick fauna, as well as the need to expand surveillance for invasive species. It illustrates the importance of maintaining surveillance capacity that is sufficient to ensure accurate and timely disease risk assessment to help mitigate the UK’s changing emerging infectious disease risks, especially in a time of climatic and environmental change and increasing global connectivity.

scholarly journals First Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain with resistance to cefixime causing gonorrhoea treatment failure in Austria, 2011

2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (43) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Unemo ◽  
D Golparian ◽  
A Stary ◽  
A Eigentler
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Neisseria Gonorrhoeae ◽  
Treatment Failure ◽  
Effective Treatment ◽  
Therapeutic Failure ◽  
Health Control ◽  
Gonorrhoeae Strain ◽  
The United Kingdom

We describe the first cefixime-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae strain in Austria that caused treatment failure. It follows the first five cases in Europe of cefixime treatment failure, reported in Norway in 2010 and the United Kingdom in 2011. Effective treatment of gonorrhoea is crucial for public health control and, at present, requires substantially enhanced awareness, more frequent test-of-cure, interaction with experts after therapeutic failure, tracing and therapy of contacts, and surveillance of gonococcal antimicrobial resistance and treatment failures worldwide.

scholarly journals Does gonorrhoea screening intensity play a role in the early selection of antimicrobial resistance in men who have sex with men (MSM)? A comparative study of Belgium and the United Kingdom

F1000Research ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris R. Kenyon ◽  
Irith De Baetselier ◽  
Tania Crucitti
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Surveillance ◽  
Surveillance Programme ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Sex With Men ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Selection Of

Background: It is unclear why antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States has tended to first appear in men who have sex with men (MSM). We hypothesize that increased exposure to antimicrobials from intensive STI screening programmes plays a role. Methods: We assess if there is a difference in the distribution of azithromycin, cefixime and ceftriaxone minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) between MSM and women in the United Kingdom (UK) where 70% of MSM report STI screening in the past year vs. Belgium where 9% report STI screening in the past year. Our hypothesis is that MICs of the MSM should be higher than those of the women in the UK but not Belgium. Data for the MICs were taken from the Gonococcal Resistance to Antimicrobials Surveillance Programme (GRASP) in the UK in 2010/2011 and 2014 and a similar national surveillance programme in Belgium in 2013/2014 (the first most complete available data). We used the Mann–Whitney test to compare the MIC distributions between MSM and women within each country Results: In the UK the MICs for all three antimicrobials were significantly higher in MSM than women at both time points (P all <0.0005). In Belgium only the MIC distribution for azithromycin was higher in MSM (P<0.0005). Conclusion: The findings for cefixime and ceftriaxone, but not azithromycin are compatible with our hypothesis that screening-intensity could contribute to the emergence of AMR. Numerous other interpretations of our results are discussed.

scholarly journals Carl Nielsen in the United Kingdom

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Muntoni
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Times ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Guardian ◽  
British Research

The United Kingdom has always been receptive to the Danish composer Carl Nielsen. For a long time Great Britain was the only country outside Scandinavia to show interest in his works, which met both the favour of the public and the appreciation of critics. No other country has produced such a comprehensive list of articles, studies and reviews about Nielsen’s music. An overview of the commentaries on Nielsen’s most performed works, namely the Fourth and Fifth Symphony, published on two major British newspapers – The Times and The Guardian – documents how the opinion on his music constantly changed. Critiques range from an initial enthusiastic acclaim to a half-hearted appreciation, and later to revaluation and revival. An analysis of a selected work, the Sixth Symphony, sheds light on the breadth and variety of what can be now considered a well-established research tradition. Robert Simpson pioneered such research in the 1950’s, but it was during the last decade of the 20 th century that the most interesting developments unfolded. Despite the wide range of interpretations, it is possible to track within British research on Carl Nielsen some underlying features that, in interplay with other factors, can help to explain the composer’s popularity in the UK.

scholarly journals Redeployment of ophthalmologists in the United Kingdom during the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic

2020 ◽  
pp. 112067212095333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Lim ◽  
Ian De Silva ◽  
George Moussa ◽  
Tahir Islam ◽  
Lina Osman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
National Health Service ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Personal Protection ◽  
Prior Training ◽  
Personal Protection Equipment ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Good Support

Background: During the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some ophthalmologists across the United Kingdom (UK) have been redeployed to areas of need across the National Health Service (NHS). This survey was performed to assess aspects of this process including training & education, tasks expected, availability of personal protection equipment (PPE) used and the overall anxiety of ophthalmologists around their redeployment. Method: Online anonymous survey around the existing guidance on safe redeployment of secondary care NHS staff and PPE use by NHS England and Public Health England respectively. The survey was open to all ophthalmologists across the UK irrespective of their redeployment status. Findings: 145 surveys were completed and returned during a 2-week period between 17th April 2020 and 1st May 2020, when 52% of ophthalmologists were redeployed. The majority of this group consisted of ophthalmologists in training (79%). 81% of those redeployed were assigned to areas of the hospital where patients with confirmed Coronavirus disease were being treated as inpatients. There was a statistically significant improvement in anxiety level following redeployment which was mainly attributed to the support received by staff within the redeployed area. 71% of the redeployed group were found to have sufficient PPE was provided for the area they worked in. Interpretation: This is the first national survey performed on redeployment of ophthalmologists in the UK. The study showed that ophthalmologists across all grades were able to contribute in most aspects of patient care. Anxiety of redeployment was reduced by prior training and good support in the redeployment area.

scholarly journals Homeless Shelter Users in the Postdeinstitutionalization Era

2000 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
HL Stuart ◽  
J Arboleda-Flórez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Community Action ◽  
Homeless Shelter ◽  
Psychiatric Symptomatology ◽  
Public Health Risks ◽  
Wide Range

Objective: To describe the psychiatric symptomatology and mental health service needs of homeless shelter users in Calgary, Alberta. Data were collected as part of a broad-based community action initiative designed to reduce the problem of homelessness. Methods: A semistructured interview was conducted with a representative sample of 250 emergency shelter users. Mental health problems were measured through self-reports of 9 psychiatric symptoms known to be related to illnesses prevalent among homeless populations (depression, anxiety, and psychoses). The CAGE alcohol screen was also used. Results: Three-quarters of the sample expressed some symptomatology. About one-third were estimated to have a significant mental health problem. The lifetime prevalence of alcohol abuse was 33.6%. Higher levels of psychiatric symptomatology appeared to relate to a wide range of hardships, personal and public health risks, addictive behaviours, victimization, economic and interpersonal life events, dissatisfaction, and stress. Also, those with significant symptomatology frequently needed mental health care services but often did not know where to access them. Conclusions: The prevalence of mental health and substance abuse problems within homeless populations is significant and associated with considerable hardship as well as personal and public health risks.

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