Care Act 2014

Meaning of “hospital patient”, “NHS hospital, “NHS body”, etc.

7 (1) A hospital patient is a person ordinarily resident in England who—

(a) is being accommodated at an NHS hospital, or at an independent hospital as a result of arrangements made by an NHS body, and

(b) is receiving (or has received or can reasonably be expected to receive) acute care.

(2) “NHS hospital” means a health service hospital (as defined by the National Health Service Act 2006) in England.

(3) “Independent hospital” means a hospital (as defined by that Act) in the United Kingdom which is not—

(a) an NHS hospital,

(b) a health service hospital as defined by section 206 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006,

(c) a health service hospital as defined by section 108 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, or

(d) a hospital vested in the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland or managed by a Health and Social Care trust.

(4) “NHS body” means—

(a) an NHS trust established under section 25 of the National Health Service Act 2006,

(b) an NHS foundation trust,

(c) the National Health Service Commissioning Board, or

(d) a clinical commissioning group.

(5) A reference to the NHS body responsible for a hospital patient is—

(a) if the hospital is an NHS hospital, a reference to the NHS body managing it, or

(b) if the hospital is an independent hospital, a reference to the NHS body that arranged for the patient to be accommodated in it.

(6) “Acute care” means intensive medical treatment provided by or under the supervision of a consultant, that lasts for a limited period after which the person receiving the treatment no longer benefits from it.

(7) Care is not “acute care” if the patient has given an undertaking (or one has been given on the patient’s behalf) to pay for it; nor is any of the following “acute care”—

(a) care of an expectant or nursing mother;

(b) mental health care;

(c) palliative care;

(d) a structured programme of care provided for a limited period to help a person maintain or regain the ability to live at home;

(e) care provided for recuperation or rehabilitation.

(8) “Mental health care” means psychiatric services, or other services provided for the purpose of preventing, diagnosing or treating illness, the arrangements for which are the primary responsibility of a consultant psychiatrist.