Health and Social Care Act 2001

Public involvement and consultation

11 Public involvement and consultation

(1) It is the duty of every body to which this section applies to make arrangements with a view to securing, as respects health services for which it is responsible, that persons to whom those services are being or may be provided are, directly or through representatives, involved in and consulted on—

(a) the planning of the provision of those services,

(b) the development and consideration of proposals for changes in the way those services are provided, and

(c) decisions to be made by that body affecting the operation of those services.

(2) This section applies to—

(a) Health Authorities,

(b) Primary Care Trusts, and

(c) NHS trusts.

(3) For the purposes of this section a body is responsible for health services—

(a) if the body provides or is to provide those services to individuals, or

(b) if another person provides, or is to provide, those services to individuals—

(i) at that body’s direction,

(ii) on its behalf, or

(iii) in accordance with an agreement or arrangements made by that body with that other person;

and references in this section to the provision of services include references to the provision of services jointly with another person.