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

Information

160 Provision of information

(1) If compensation is sought in consequence of any injury suffered by an injured person, such information with respect to the circumstances of the case as may be prescribed must be given by the following persons to the Secretary of State or the Scottish Ministers (as the case may require)—

(a) the person against whom the claim is made and anyone acting on behalf of that person, whether or not proceedings have been commenced,

(b) the injured person or, if the injured person has died, his personal representative,

(c) anyone not within paragraph (a) who is, or is alleged to be, liable to any extent in respect of the injury,

(d) if the claim is not made by the injured person, the person by whom it is made,

(e) anyone acting on behalf of the person within any of paragraphs (b) to (d),

(f) the responsible body of each health service hospital at which the injured person has received NHS treatment as a result of his injury,

(g) any ambulance trust which provided NHS ambulance services as a result of his injury.

(2) A person who is required to give information under this section must do so—

(a) in the prescribed manner, and

(b) within the prescribed period.

(3) Regulations under this section may, in particular, require the provision of information about any NHS treatment which an injured person has received at a health service hospital and any NHS ambulance services provided to the injured person.

(4) In this section—

• “ambulance trust”—

  (a)

  in relation to England or Wales, means—

  (i)

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

  (ii)

  an NHS foundation trust,

  (b)

  in relation to Scotland, means a Special Health Board established under section 2(1)(b) of the 1978 Act;

• “responsible body”, in relation to a health service hospital, means—

  (a)

  in the case of a hospital vested in—

  (i)

  a National Health Service trust established under section 5 of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19) or section 12A of the 1978 Act, or

  (ii)

  a Primary Care Trust,

  the trust, and

  (b)

  in any other case, the body responsible for the management of the hospital.

161 Use of information held by the Secretary of State or the Scottish Ministers etc.

(1) Subsection (2) applies to information which is held—

(a) by the Secretary of State, or

(b) by a person providing services to the Secretary of State in connection with the provision of those services,

for the purposes of, or for any purpose connected with, the exercise of functions under the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 (c. 27).

(2) The information may—

(a) be used for the purposes of, or for any purpose connected with, the exercise of functions under this Part, and

(b) be supplied to a qualifying person for use for those purposes.

(3) In subsection (2), “qualifying person” means—

(a) in the case of information held by the Secretary of State—

(i) a person providing services to the Secretary of State, or

(ii) the Scottish Ministers or a person providing services to the Scottish Ministers, or

(b) in the case of information held by a person providing services to the Secretary of State—

(i) the Secretary of State or another person providing services to the Secretary of State, or

(ii) the Scottish Ministers or a person providing services to the Scottish Ministers.

(4) Subsection (5) applies to information which is held—

(a) by the Secretary of State or the Scottish Ministers, or

(b) by a person providing services to the Secretary of State or the Scottish Ministers in connection with provision of those services,

for the purposes of, or for any purpose connected with, the exercise of functions under this Part.

(5) The information may—

(a) be used for the purposes of, or for any purpose connected with, the exercise of functions under the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997, and

(b) be supplied to a qualifying person for use for those purposes.

(6) In subsection (5), “qualifying person” means—

(a) in the case of information held by the Secretary of State, a person providing services to the Secretary of State,

(b) in the case of information held by the Scottish Ministers, the Secretary of State or a person providing services to the Secretary of State,

(c) in the case of information held by a person providing services to the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State or another person providing services to the Secretary of State,

(d) in the case of information held by a person providing services to the Scottish Ministers, the Secretary of State or a person providing services to the Secretary of State.