About the HPA
Brief History
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) was established in April 2003 to combine public health, scientific and health protection expertise, research, and emergency planning within one organisation. The 2004 Health Protection Agency Act established the HPA as an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), a stand-alone national Arms Length Body (ALB) sponsored by, and accountable to, the Department of Health.
Our Role
As an independent specialist organisation dedicated to protecting the health of the population of the United Kingdom, the HPA provides impartial advice and authoritative information on health protection issues to the public, to health professionals and to government. Everything we do is based on expert skills and knowledge applied to strong front-line services. We work at international, national, regional and local levels to identify new threats to health, to prepare for them, prevent them where possible, and should they arrive, reduce their impact on public health.
Organisational Structure
The HPA has a large network of more than 3,000 staff based at three major centres (Colindale in North London, Porton in Wiltshire and Chilton in Oxfordshire) and in 80 locations across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The HPA’s headquarters is in London.
You can find out more about the Health Protection Agency at www.hpa.org.uk
