Clinical response to local incidents and outbreaks of infectious disease: Commissioning guidance for ICBs (4 March 2025)

Summary

This guidance aims to support integrated care boards (ICBs) in planning and commissioning services to manage infectious disease outbreaks. With over 10,000 outbreaks managed annually in England, these incidents can strain NHS resources and exacerbate health inequalities, especially among vulnerable populations.

ICBs are responsible for developing health plans, managing budgets, and arranging services. The guidance emphasises the importance of activities like diagnostic testing, clinical assessment, vaccination, and post-exposure chemoprophylaxis to prevent illness and reduce transmission.

Clear prior arrangements with providers are crucial for timely responses and minimizing disruptions to routine services.

This guidance is intended to help ICBs prepare their response to infectious disease threats up to and including NHS incident response level 2, ranging from individual exposures to localised outbreaks.

It should be used alongside national legislation and policy and operationalised through commissioning arrangements with local providers in conjunction with local outbreak plans and multiagency memorandums of understanding.