National Health Service Act 2006

242 Public involvement and consultation

(1) This section applies to—

(a) Strategic Health Authorities,

(b) Primary Care Trusts,

(c) NHS trusts, and

(d) NHS foundation trusts.

(2) Each body to which this section applies must make arrangements with a view to securing, as respects health services for which it is responsible, that persons to whom those services are being or may be provided are, directly or through representatives, involved in and consulted on—

(a) the planning of the provision of those services,

(b) the development and consideration of proposals for changes in the way those services are provided, and

(c) decisions to be made by that body affecting the operation of those services.

(3) For the purposes of this section a body is responsible for health services—

(a) if the body provides or will provide those services to individuals, or

(b) if another person provides, or will provide, those services to individuals—

(i) at that body’s direction,

(ii) on its behalf, or

(iii) in accordance with an agreement or arrangements made by that body with that other person,

and references in this section to the provision of services include references to the provision of services jointly with another person.

(4) Subsection (5) applies to health services for which a Strategic Health Authority is not responsible by virtue of subsection (3), but which are or will be provided to individuals in the area of the Strategic Health Authority, and for which—

(a) a Primary Care Trust any part of whose area falls within the Strategic Health Authority’s area, or

(b) an NHS trust which provides services at or from a hospital or other establishment or facility which falls within the Strategic Health Authority’s area,

is responsible by virtue of subsection (3).

(5) A Strategic Health Authority may give directions to Primary Care Trusts falling within paragraph (a) of subsection (4), and NHS trusts falling within paragraph (b) of that subsection, as to the arrangements which they are to make under subsection (2) in relation to health services to which this subsection applies.