National Health Service Act 2006

238 Additional functions of PCT Patients' Forums

(1) A Patients' Forum established for a Primary Care Trust (a “PCT Patients' Forum”) has the following additional functions—

(a) providing independent advocacy services to persons in the Primary Care Trust’s area or persons to whom services have been provided by, or under arrangements with, the Primary Care Trust,

(b) making available to patients and their carers advice and information about the making of complaints in relation to services provided by or under arrangements with the Primary Care Trust, and

(c) representing to persons and bodies which exercise functions in relation to the area of the Primary Care Trust (including, in particular, any relevant overview and scrutiny committee) the views of members of the public in the Primary Care Trust’s area about matters affecting their health.

(2) In subsection (1), references to services have the meaning given by section 237(8).

(3) It is also the function of a PCT Patients' Forum—

(a) to promote the involvement of members of the public in the area of the Primary Care Trust in consultations or processes leading (or potentially leading) to decisions by those mentioned in subsection (4), or the formulation of policies by them, which would or might affect (whether directly or not) the health of those members of the public,

(b) to make available advice and information to such members of the public about such involvement,

(c) to advise those mentioned in subsection (4) about how to encourage such involvement (including, in the case of bodies mentioned in subsection (4) to which section 242 applies, advising them how to comply with the requirements of that section in relation to the area of the Primary Care Trust), and

(d) to monitor how successful those mentioned in subsection (4) are at achieving such involvement.

(4) Those referred to in subsection (3) are—

(a) Strategic Health Authorities whose areas include any part of the area of the Primary Care Trust,

(b) the Primary Care Trust itself,

(c) NHS trusts which provide services to patients in the area of the Primary Care Trust,

(d) other public bodies, and

(e) others providing services to the public or a section of the public.

(5) In this section—

• “carer” and “patient” have the meaning given by section 237,

• “independent advocacy services” means services provided under section 248,

• “relevant overview and scrutiny committee” has the meaning given by section 237.