The Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Amounts) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2023

Scottish Statutory Instruments

2023 No. 243

National Health Service

The Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Amounts) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2023

Made

30th August 2023

Laid before the Scottish Parliament

1st September 2023

Coming into force

2nd October 2023

The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 153(2) and (5), 163(1) and 195(1) and (2) of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003(1) and all other powers enabling them to do so.

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Amounts) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 2023 and come into force on 2 October 2023.

Amendment of the Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Amounts) (Scotland) Regulations 2006

2.—(1) The Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Amounts) (Scotland) Regulations 2006(2) are amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (5).

(2) In regulation 2P(1) (amount of NHS charges – injuries occurring on or after 1 April 2023)(3), after “1 April 2023” insert “and before 2 October 2023”.

(3) After regulation 2P insert—

“Amount of NHS charges – injuries occurring on or after 2 October 2023

2Q.— (1) Subject to the following paragraphs and regulations 3 and 3A, a certificate relating to an injury which occurs on or after 2 October 2023 must, for the purposes of section 153(2), specify—

(a) the sum of £243 for each occasion on which, as a result of such an injury, the injured person was provided with NHS ambulance services for the purpose of taking the injured person to a hospital for NHS treatment, and

(b) where the injured person received NHS treatment at a hospital in respect of the injury, if the injured person was—

(i) not admitted to hospital, the sum of £806, or

(ii) admitted to hospital, the sum of £991 for each day or part day of the admission.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a), the reference to taking an injured person to a hospital includes taking that person from one hospital to another.

(3) Where the injured person was admitted to hospital on one day and discharged on another day, the day of the discharge is to be disregarded for the purpose of paragraph (1)(b)(ii).

(4) The amount which a certificate may specify under paragraph (1)(a) or (1)(b), or both, must not exceed £59,248 (“the maximum”).

(5) Where—

(a) amounts fall to be specified under both paragraph (1)(a) and paragraph (1)(b), and

(b) the aggregate of those amount would exceed the maximum,

the amount to be specified under paragraph (1)(b) is to be reduced by the difference between the maximum and the aggregate of those amounts.”.

(4) In regulation 3(2) (amount of NHS charges: further provision)(4), for “or 2P” substitute “, 2P or 2Q”.

(5) In regulation 6 (adjustment of amounts where certificates are issued by the Scottish Ministers and the Secretary of State)—

(a) in paragraph (1)(b)(5), for “or 2P(4)” substitute “, 2P(4) or 2Q(4)”, and

(b) in paragraph (2)(a)(6), for “or 2P(4) and (5)” substitute “, 2P(4) and (5) or 2Q(4) and (5)”.

MICHAEL MATHESON

A member of the Scottish Government

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

30th August 2023

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Personal Injuries (NHS Charges) (Amounts) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (“the principal Regulations”) which make provision in relation to the amount of NHS charges which can be recovered from a person who pays compensation to an injured person where that injured person has received National Health Service treatment or ambulance services.

Regulation 2 amends regulation 2P of the principal Regulations and inserts regulation 2Q into the principal Regulations to increase the charges in respect of injuries which occur on or after 2 October 2023. Where the injured person is provided with NHS ambulance services, the charge is increased from £238 to £243 for each occasion on which the service is provided. Where the injured person receives NHS treatment but is not admitted to hospital, the charge is increased from £788 to £806. The daily charge for NHS in patient treatment is increased from £968 to £991. The maximum charge in respect of an injury is increased from £57,892 to £59,248.

Regulation 2 also makes consequential amendments, by way of inserting references to the increased charges in new regulation 2Q, to provisions in the principal Regulations in relation to situations where (a) a person makes more than one compensation payment to an injured person and (b) a person is due to pay NHS charges to both the Scottish Ministers and the Secretary of State.

(1)

2003 c. 43 (“the 2003 Act”), relevantly amended by paragraph 1 of schedule 4 of the National Health Service (Consequential Provisions) Act 2006 (c. 43). By virtue of section 167(1) of the 2003 Act any power to make regulations in relation to the recovery of NHS charges is exercisable in relation to Scotland by the Scottish Ministers. Section 168 of the 2003 Act contains a definition of “prescribed” relevant to the exercise of the statutory powers under which these Regulations are made.

(2)

S.S.I. 2006/588, as relevantly amended by S.S.I. 2008/96, S.S.I. 2009/193, S.S.I. 2010/42, S.S.I. 2011/71, S.S.I. 2012/76, S.S.I. 2013/53, S.S.I. 2014/57, S.S.I. 2015/81, S.S.I. 2016/59, S.S.I. 2017/58, S.S.I. 2018/47, S.S.I. 2019/27, S.S.I. 2020/16, S.S.I. 2021/60, S.S.I. 2022/45 and S.S.I. 2023/34.

(3)

Regulation 2P was inserted by S.S.I. 2023/34.

(4)

Regulation 3(2) was most recently amended by S.S.I. 2023/34.

(5)

Regulation 6(1)(b) was most recently amended by S.S.I. 2023/34.

(6)

Regulation 6(2)(a) was most recently amended by S.S.I. 2023/34.