The government is to establish the National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP) to boost the UK’s ability to deal with and recover from Covid-19 and meet health challenges of the coming winter.
NIHP will start work immediately, with a single command structure to advance the country’s response to the pandemic.
From today, the government will bring together Public Health England (PHE) and NHS Test and Trace, as well as the analytical capability of the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) under the interim leadership of Baroness Dido Harding (pictured).
To minimise disruption to the vital work dealing with the pandemic, NIHP will be formalised and operating from spring 2021.
The responsibilities of the NIHP will include local health protection teams to deal with infections and other threats; support and resources for local authorities to manage local outbreaks; the Covid-19 testing programme; and contact tracing.
NIHP will report directly to Health and Care Secretary Matt Hancock and support the clinical leadership of the four UK chief medical officers.
“To give ourselves the best chance of beating this virus once and for all – and of spotting and being ready to respond to other health threats, now and in the future – we are creating a brand new organisation to provide a new approach to public health protection and resilience,” said Hancock.
“The National Institute for Health Protection will bring together the expertise of PHE with the enormous response capabilities of NHS Test and Trace and the JBC to put us in the best possible position for the next stage of the fight against Covid-19 and for the long term,” he added.
