By-laws of the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

Issued pursuant to
Section 16, Paragraph one
of the State Administration Structure Law

I. General Provisions

1. The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (hereinafter - the Centre) is an institution of direct administration under subordination of the Minister for Health.

2. The purpose of the operation of the Centre is to implement the public health policy in the State in sub-areas of epidemiological safety and disease prevention and the health care policy in the sub-area of health care quality, as well as to ensure the implementation and coordination of the health promotion policy.

[14 February 2017]

II. Functions, Tasks, and Rights of the Centre

3. The Centre shall have the following functions:

3.1. to develop proposals based on scientific evidence and corresponding to the best international practice for health care and public health policy-making, and to submit proposals regarding the priorities of such policy;

3.2. to carry out surveillance of noncommunicable diseases, to organise disease prevention and health promotion activities, as well as to assess the factors which may affect public health;

3.3. to carry out epidemiological surveillance, monitoring, and intelligence of infectious diseases;

3.4. to organise measures for the prevention and restriction of the spread of infectious diseases, including measures in population groups which are at an increased risk of infection or belong to special risk groups;

3.5. to coordinate and supervise enforcement of the policy planning documents in the sub-area of epidemiological safety;

3.6. to acquire, compile, process, and analyse statistical information regarding public health and health care;

3.7. to perform monitoring of public health;

3.8. to ensure methodological support to medical treatment institutions in medical treatment quality and patient safety issues;

3.9. to develop and maintain the range of performance results and indicators of health care for the analysis of operation and results of medical treatment institutions;

3.10. to provide informative support to public administration institutions for the implementation of physical health care of the population;

3.11. to draw up a list of clinical guidelines to be developed, to assess the clinical guidelines, and to ensure methodological management of their implementation.

[4 December 2012; 14 February 2017; 7 August 2018; Sub-paragraph 3.11 shall come into force on 1 September 2018; see Paragraph 16.¹]

4. In order to ensure the fulfilment of the functions referred to in Paragraph 3 of this Regulation, the Centre shall perform the following tasks:

4.1. develop programmes for disease prevention and health promotion and ensure methodological management of their implementation;

4.1.¹ coordinate implementation of health promotional activities at national and regional levels;

4.1.² inform social groups on the issues which affect health and healthy lifestyle;

4.2. ensure epidemiological investigation of the cases and outbreaks of infectious diseases and organisation of counter-epidemic measures in foci of infectious diseases, perform analysis of epidemiological data, risk assessment, participate in the management of emergencies and prevention of epidemic (pandemic) threats;

4.3. plan vaccination of the population, compile vaccine orders of the institutions responsible for the vaccination, and order vaccines from medicinal product wholesalers, ensure monitoring of vaccination, compilation and analysis of statistical data, perform monitoring and epidemiological investigation of cases of vaccination-related complications;

4.4. prepare information, develop methodological recommendations, and provide methodological support to State and local government institutions, medical treatment institutions, non-governmental organisations, other legal and natural persons in the issues related to epidemiological safety, disease prevention, and health promotion;

4.5. acquire, compile, process, analyse, publish, and distribute to domestic and foreign data users the necessary national statistical information (summary) regarding health care services, health condition of the population, infectious diseases, health risk factors, public health problems, addiction diseases, and mental health;

4.6. plan, methodologically manage, organise, coordinate, and conduct studies in the area of public health;

4.7. establish and develop a national information and monitoring system for infectious diseases, and coordinate the operation of the relevant system;

4.8. [4 December 2012];

4.9. according to its competence, cooperate with State and local government institutions, non-governmental organisations, private individuals, international institutions, and organisations by ensuring exchange of information and experience, training and implementation of joint projects, represent national interests in international organisations, European Union institutions, and international events;

4.10. according to its competence, participate in drawing up and evaluation of draft laws and regulations and draft development planning documents;

4.11. organise the planning, procurement, storage, accounting, and distribution of the medicinal products and medical devices necessary for the provision of operation of HIV prevention points;

4.12. establish, maintain, and update the following national information systems and databases under supervision of the Centre:

4.12.1. the State Infectious Diseases Supervision and Monitoring System (VISUMS);

4.12.2. the State Register of HIV/AIDS Cases;

4.12.3. [4 December 2012];

4.12.4. the State Population Genome Register;

4.12.5. the Register of Newborns;

4.12.6. the Register of Patients Suffering from Certain Diseases;

4.12.7. the Database of State Statistical Reports on Health Care Sector;

4.12.8. the Database of Causes of Death of Inhabitants of Latvia;

4.12.9. the Database of Use of In-patient Bed Fund;

4.12.10. the Public Health Monitoring and Reporting System;

4.12.11. [7 August 2018];

4.12.12. the Data Presentation System;

4.12.13. the Database of Clinical Guidelines;

4.13. according to its competence, provide the Central Statistical Bureau, the World Health Organisation, the European Union institutions, State and local government institutions with the information at the disposal of the Centre;

4.14. ensure the maintenance and coordination of the functioning of the Early Warning and Response System (EWRS) for communicable diseases in the European Union;

4.15. ensure the focal point for the World Health Organisation and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, as well as performance of the duties of a coordinator of the European Surveillance System (TESSy);

4.16. ensure the function of the State specialised centre for the membership in the European Information Network on Drugs and Drug Addiction (Reitox) maintained by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 on the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/2101 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 November 2017 amending Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 as regards information exchange on, and an early warning system and risk assessment procedure for, new psychoactive substances (hereinafter - Regulation 2017/2101);

4.17. ensure exchange of information among the State specialised centre for the European Information Network on Drugs and Drug Addiction (Reitox), European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, and Europol regarding new psychoactive substances, their detection and identification, use and patterns of use, manufacture, extraction, distribution, and distribution methods, trafficking, and commercial, medical and scientific use of such substances, as well as the potential and identified risks posed by those substances in accordance with Regulation 2017/2101;

4.18. perform any other tasks specified in laws and regulations;

4.19. develop and distribute the methodological recommendations for increasing medical treatment quality and patient safety to medical treatment institutions;

4.20. provide methodological support to medical treatment institutions by analysing unforeseen incidents related to patient safety;

4.21. accumulate data on performance results and indicators of health care and perform their analysis;

4.22. establish descriptions of medical treatment processes of specific patient groups based on scientific evidence.

[4 December 2012; 14 February 2017; 7 August 2018 / Amendment to Sub-paragraph 4.16 and the new wording of Sub-paragraph 4.17 shall come into force on 23 November 2018; see Paragraph 2 of the amendments]

5. The Centre has the following rights:

5.1. to request and receive free of charge, in accordance with the procedures laid down in laws and regulations, the information and documents from State and local government institutions, medical treatment institutions, as well as natural and legal persons which are necessary for the performance of the tasks of the Centre;

5.2. to cooperate with State and local government institutions, non-governmental organisations, natural and legal persons, as well as foreign institutions;

5.3. to invite experts and establish working groups for the purpose of performing functions and tasks of the Centre;

5.4. to engage in programmes and projects of the European Union institutions and international organisations;

5.5. to organise conferences, seminars, courses, training, and other educational and informative measures according to its area of activity;

5.6. to issue administrative acts in the cases specified in external laws and regulations;

5.7. to receive donations, gifts, and foreign financial assistance;

5.7.¹ to provide paid services in accordance with the procedures laid down in laws and regulations;

5.8. to perform other activities specified in laws and regulations.

[4 December 2012; Sub-paragraph 5.7.¹ shall come into force on 1 January 2013; see Paragraph 2 of the amendments]

III. Organisation of the Operation of the Centre

6. The Centre shall be managed by the Director. The Director of the Centre is a State civil servant. The Director of the Centre shall, according to the procedures of competition, be appointed to and removed from the office by the Minister for Health.

7. The Director of the Centre shall determine the organisational structure of the Centre.

8. The Director of the Centre may have deputies - State civil servants.

9. The composition of the Centre may include territorial units.

10. A territorial unit of the Centre shall be managed by the head of the territorial unit. The obligations, rights, and responsibility of the head of the territorial unit shall be determined in the rules of procedure of the territorial unit.

IV. Ensuring Lawfulness of the Operation of the Centre and Submission of Reports

11. The Director of the Centre shall ensure the lawfulness of the operation of the Centre and shall be responsible for the establishment and operation of the system for examination of administrative decisions.

12. The administrative acts issued by officials of structural units of the Centre or their actual action may be contested by submitting a relevant application to the Director of the Centre. A decision of the Director of the Centre may be appealed to a court.

13. The administrative acts issued by the Director of the Centre (except for the decision referred to in Paragraph 12 of this Regulation) and their actual action may be contested before the Ministry of Health. A decision of the Ministry of Health may be appealed to a court.

14. The Centre shall, once a year, submit a report to the Minister for Health on the performance of the functions and the utilisation of financial resources.

15. The Centre shall, upon request of the Ministry of Health, provide information regarding the operation of the Centre and the use of financial resources.

V. Closing Provisions

16. The following is repealed:

16.1. Cabinet Regulation No. 8 of 4 January 2005, By-laws of the State Agency "Infectology Centre of Latvia" (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2005, Nos. 4, 172; 2007, No. 65; 2009, No. 145);

16.2. Cabinet Regulation No. 528 of 19 July 2005, Regulations Regarding the Pricelist of Public Services of the State Agency "Infectology Centre of Latvia" (Latvijas Vēstnesis, 2005, No. 115; 2006, No. 101; 2007, No. 88; 2008, No. 114; 2009, Nos. 72, 169; 2010, No. 61).

16.¹ Sub-paragraphs 3.11, 4.2.13, and 4.22 of this Regulation shall come into force on 1 September 2018.

[7 August 2018]

17. This Regulation shall be applicable from 1 April 2012.

Prime Minister V. Dombrovskis

Minister for Health I. Circene

Translation © 2019 Valsts valodas centrs (State Language Centre)