National Health Service Act 1977

59 S. 58 power in relation to private patients

(1) In this section and section 60 below " the section 58 power " means the Secretary of State's power under section 58 above to afford persons (subject to section 62 below) admission or access to accommodation or services as resident or non-resident private patients at health service hospitals.

(2) The Secretary of State shall not in the exercise of his section 58 power afford a person admission or access to accommodation or services at such a hospital as a private patient unless satisfied that the accommodation or services are required for the purposes of investigation, diagnosis or treatment which—

(a) is of a specialised nature or involves the use of specialised equipment or skills ; and

(b) is not privately available in Great Britain or, if it is so available, either—

(i) is not privately available there at a place which is reasonably accessible to the patient; or

(ii) is such that it is in the interests of the health service or of the Scottish health service or of both for it to be carried out on that occasion at that hospital.

In this subsection " privately available " means available at a satisfactory standard otherwise than at a health service hospital.

(3) The Secretary of State shall not exercise his section 58 power in such a way as to afford persons admission or access to accommodation or services at health service hospitals otherwise than in accordance with the following arrangements.

Those arrangements are such as in his opinion are best suited for securing that all persons admitted or afforded access to accommodation or services at health service hospitals as resident or non-resident patients for the purposes of investigation, diagnosis or treatment of a specialised nature, or involving the use of specialised equipment or skills, are, so far as is practicable, admitted or afforded such access on the basis of medical priority alone, whether they come as private patients or not.

(4) The Secretary of State shall not exercise his section 58 power in such a way as to allow any particular accommodation or facilities at a health service hospital to be reserved or set aside for regular or repeated use in connection with the treatment of persons as private patients.

This subsection is without prejudice to his power to allow such use in connection with the treatment of any particular person afforded admission or access to that accommodation or those facilities.