National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990

25 Transfer to DHA of certain functions relating to private patients

(1) Section 65 of the principal Act (accommodation and services for private patients) shall be amended in accordance with this section.

(2) In subsection (1) (power of Secretary of State to authorise accommodation and services at hospitals to be made available for private patients etc.)—

(a) for the words from the beginning to “as he may determine”, in the first place where those words occur, there shall be substituted “Subject to the provisions of this section, to such extent as they may determine, a District or Special Health Authority may make available at a hospital or hospitals for which they have responsibility accommodation and services”;

(b) for any subsequent reference to the Secretary of State in the words preceding paragraph (a) there shall be substituted a reference to the District Health Authority or Special Health Authority, as the case may require; and

(c) in paragraph (a) for the words “him of any duty imposed on him by” there shall be substituted “the Authority of any function conferred on the Authority under”,

(3) After subsection (1) there shall be inserted the following subsection—

“(1A) Before determining to make any accommodation or services available as mentioned in subsection (1) above, a District or Special Health Authority shall consult organisations representative of the interests of persons likely to be affected by the determination.”

(4) In subsection (2)—

(a) for the words “The Secretary of State” there shall be substituted “A District or Special Health Authority”; and

(b) for the words from “to which an authorisation” to “made available” there shall be substituted “which are made available under subsection (1) above to be so made available”.

(5) For subsection (3) of that section there shall be substituted the following subsection—

“(3) The Secretary of State may give directions to a District or Special Health Authority in relation to the exercise of its functions under this section; and it shall be the duty of an authority to whom directions are so given to comply with them.”