Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003

Payments to hospitals or ambulance trusts

162 Payment of NHS charges to hospitals or ambulance trusts

(1) If the Secretary of State receives or the Scottish Ministers receive a payment of relevant NHS charges under section 150(2)—

(a) if the payment relates only to NHS treatment received at a health service hospital, he or they must pay the amount received to the responsible body of the health service hospital,

(b) if the payment relates only to the provision of NHS ambulance services, he or they must pay the amount received to the relevant ambulance trust,

(c) if the payment relates to NHS treatment received at more than one health service hospital, he or they must divide the amount received among the responsible bodies of the hospitals concerned in such manner as he considers or they consider appropriate,

(d) if the payment relates to NHS treatment received at one or more health service hospitals and the provision of NHS ambulance services, he or they must divide the amount received among the responsible body or bodies of the hospital or hospitals and any relevant ambulance trusts concerned in such manner as he considers or they consider appropriate.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to any amount received by the Secretary of State or the Scottish Ministers under section 150(2) which he is or they are required to repay in accordance with regulations under section 153(2).

(3) Regulations under this section may—

(a) make provision for the manner in which and intervals at which any payments due under this section are to be made,

(b) make provision for cases where the responsible body of the health service hospital or relevant ambulance trust concerned has ceased to exist (including provision modifying this Part).

(4) Any amounts received under this section by the responsible bodies of the health service hospitals concerned must be used for the purposes of providing goods and services for the benefit of patients receiving NHS treatment at those hospitals.

(5) Any amounts received under this section by the relevant ambulance trusts concerned must be used for the purposes of NHS ambulance services.

(6) In this section—

• “relevant ambulance trust”—

  (a)

  in relation to England or Wales, means—

  (i)

  the National Health Service trust established under section 5 of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19), or

  (ii)

  the NHS foundation trust,

  which is designated by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section in relation to the health service hospital to which the injured person was taken for treatment,

  (b)

  in relation to Scotland, means the Special Health Board, established under section 2(1)(b) of the 1978 Act, which is designated by the Scottish Ministers for the purposes of this section in relation to the health service hospital to which the injured person was taken for treatment;

• “responsible body” has the meaning given in section 160(4).