National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 (c. 42)

Part 2 E+W Health service bodies

Chapter 2 E+W NHS trusts

18 NHS trusts E+W

(1) The Welsh Ministers may by order establish bodies, called National Health Service trusts (“NHS trusts”), to provide goods and services for the purposes of the health service.

(2) An order under subsection (1) is referred to in this Act as “an NHS trust order”.

(3) No NHS trust order may be made until after the completion of such consultation as may be prescribed.

(4) Schedule 3 makes further provision about NHS trusts.

19 Welsh Ministers' directions to NHS trusts E+W

(1) The Welsh Ministers may give directions to an NHS trust about its exercise of any functions.

(2) The Welsh Ministers may not give directions under this section in respect of matters concerning xenotransplantation, surrogacy agreements, embryology or human genetics.

(3) Nothing in provision made by or under this or any other Act affects the generality of subsection (1).

20 General duty of NHS trusts E+W

An NHS trust must exercise its functions effectively, efficiently and economically.

[F1 20A Duty of NHS trusts to secure quality in health services E+W

(1) Each NHS trust must exercise its functions with a view to securing improvement in the quality of health services.

(2) For the purposes of this section—

• “health services” means any services provided or secured in accordance with this Act;

• “quality” includes, but is not limited to, quality in terms of—

  (a)

  the effectiveness of health services,

  (b)

  the safety of health services, and

  (c)

  the experience of individuals to whom health services are provided.

(3) Each NHS trust must publish an annual report on the steps it has taken to comply with the duty in subsection (1).

(4) The report must include an assessment of the extent of any improvement in outcomes achieved by virtue of those steps.

(5) The Welsh Ministers must issue guidance to NHS trusts in relation to the requirements imposed by subsections (1) and (3).

(6) The guidance must, in particular, include guidance about—

(a) the evidence to be used in support of an assessment required by this section, and

(b) the conduct of such an assessment.

(7) Each NHS trust must have regard to guidance issued under subsection (5).]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 20A inserted (1.4.2023) by Health and Social Care (Quality and Engagement) (Wales) Act 2020 (asc 1), ss. 2(4), 29(2); S.I. 2023/370, art. 3(1)(b)

21 Financial provisions relating to NHS trusts E+W

Schedule 4 makes provision about the financing of NHS trusts.