Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003



Community Care (Delayed Dischargesetc.) Act 2003

2003 CHAPTER 5

An Act to make provision requiring social services authorities to make payments in cases where the discharge of patients is delayed for reasons relating to the provision of community care services or services for carers; and to enable the Secretary of State and the National Assembly for Wales to require certain community care services and services for carers provided by social services authorities to be free of charge to persons receiving those services.

[8th April 2003]

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

1 Delayed discharge payments

Part 1

Delayed discharge payments

Preliminary

Preliminary

S-1 Meaning of ‘NHS body’ and ‘qualifying hospital patient’

1 Meaning of ‘NHS body’ and ‘qualifying hospital patient’

1 Meaning of ‘NHS body’ and ‘qualifying hospital patient’

(1) In this Part—

‘NHS body’ means—

(a) a National Health Service trust; or

(b) a Primary Care Trust (in England) or a Local Health Board (in Wales); and

‘qualifying hospital patient’ means, subject to subsection (2), a person being accommodated at—

(a) a health service hospital; or

(b) an independent hospital in pursuance of arrangements made by an NHS body,

who is receiving (or who has received or is expected to receive) care of a description prescribed in regulations.

(2) The term ‘qualifying hospital patient’ does not include any person who is ordinarily resident outside England and Wales.

(3) An NHS body may make arrangements with any person connected with the management of an independent hospital in the United Kingdom for that person (or any employee of his) to do, on behalf of the NHS body and in accordance with the arrangements, anything which is required or authorised to be done by the NHS body by or under this Part in relation to qualifying hospital patients accommodated in that hospital.

(4) Anything done or omitted to be done by or in relation to the authorised person (or any employee of his) in pursuance of such arrangements is to be treated as done or omitted to be done by or in relation to the NHS body.

(5) Nothing in subsection (3) or (4) prevents anything being done by or in relation to the NHS body.

Determination of need for community care services etc. on discharge

Determination of need for community care services etc. on discharge

S-2 Notice of patient's likely need for community care services

2 Notice of patient's likely need for community care services

2 Notice of patient's likely need for community care services

(1) This section applies where—

(a) a person (‘the patient’) is or is expected to become a qualifying hospital patient at a particular hospital, and

(b) the responsible NHS body considers that it is unlikely to be safe to discharge the patient from hospital unless one or more community care services are made available for him.

(2) It is the duty of the responsible NHS body to give notice of the patient's case for the purposes of this Part—

(a) to the social services authority appearing to the NHS body to be the authority in whose area the patient is ordinarily resident when the notice is given, or

(b) if it appears to them that the patient has no settled residence, to the social services authority in whose area the hospital is situated.

(3) That notice—

(a) must state that it is given under this section; and

(b) if given before the day on which the patient is admitted to the hospital, must not be given earlier than the beginning of the period of eight days ending with the day on which he is expected to be admitted.

(4) Before giving a notice under this section the responsible NHS body must consult—

(a) the patient; and

(b) if the responsible NHS body is aware of the identity of a person who is a carer in respect of the patient and it is reasonably practicable to consult him, that carer.

(5) In this Part ‘the responsible NHS body’, in relation to a person who is or is expected to become a qualifying hospital patient, means—

(a) if the hospital concerned is a health service hospital, the NHS body managing the hospital; or

(b) if the hospital concerned is an independent hospital, the NHS body making the arrangements for the patient to be accommodated.

(6) In this Part ‘the responsible authority’, in relation to a person whose case has been notified under this section, means (subject to any regulations under section 10) the social services authority to which the notice is given.

S-3 Notices under section 2: supplementary

3 Notices under section 2: supplementary

3 Notices under section 2: supplementary

(1) A notice under section 2 remains in force until the patient to which it relates is discharged, unless it has previously ceased to have effect by virtue of subsection (2) or (3).

(2) The responsible NHS body may withdraw the notice by giving notice of withdrawal to the responsible authority.

(3) Regulations may prescribe other circumstances in which the notice ceases to have effect.

(4) If the notice ceases to have effect before the patient is discharged—

(a) no further steps under section 4, 5 or 6 resulting from the notice shall be taken and no liability (or further liability) to make a payment under section 6(2) shall accrue; and

(b) the responsible NHS body may (subject to section 2(1)) give a fresh notice under section 2 in relation to the patient;

but paragraph (a) does not affect any liability which accrues before the notice ceases to have effect.

(5) Regulations may provide for—

(a) the form and content of—

(i) notices under section 2; and

(ii) notices of withdrawal under subsection (2),

and the manner in which such notices are to be given;

(b) circumstances in which notices under section 2 must be withdrawn; and

(c) determining the day on which a notice under section 2 or a notice of withdrawal under subsection (2) is given (including provision prescribing circumstances in which a notice under section 2 is to be treated for any specified purpose as having been given on a day other than that on which it was in fact given).

S-4 Duties of responsible authority following notice under section 2

4 Duties of responsible authority following notice under section 2

4 Duties of responsible authority following notice under section 2

(1) The duties in this section apply where notice of a patient's case under section 2 has been given.

(2) The responsible authority must—

(a) carry out an assessment of the patient's needs with a view to identifying any community care services that need to be made available in order for it to be safe to discharge him; and

(b) after consulting the responsible NHS body, decide which of those services (if any) the authority will make available for the patient.

(3) The responsible authority must, in the circumstances mentioned in subsection (4), also—

(a) carry out an assessment of the needs of any person who is a carer in respect of the patient (‘the carer’) with a view to identifying any services which—

(i) the authority may provide under section 2 of the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 (c. 16)); and

(ii) need to be made available to the carer in order for it to be safe to discharge the patient; and

(b) after consulting the responsible NHS body, decide which of those services (if any) the authority will make available to the carer.

(4) The duties in subsection (3) apply only where the carer—

(a) asks the responsible authority to carry out an assessment under subsection (3); or

(b) has, within the period of twelve months ending with the day on which the notice under section 2 was given (or at any time after that day), asked the responsible authority to carry out an assessment under section 1 of the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000.

(5) The duties in subsection (2) or (3) apply whether or not the patient's needs for community care services or the carer's needs for services (as the case may be) have previously been assessed.

(6) The responsible authority must keep under review—

(a) the needs of the patient; and

(b) the needs of any carer whose needs it has assessed under subsection (3)(a),

so far as affecting the services that need to be made available in order for it to be safe to discharge the patient.

(7) The responsible authority may, after consulting the responsible NHS body, alter—

(a) its decision under subsection (2)(b); or

(b) any decision taken by it under subsection (3)(b),

to take account of any change in circumstances since the assessment carried out under subsection (2)(a) or (3)(a) (as the case may be).

(8) The responsible authority must inform the responsible NHS body of the decision under subsection (2)(b), of any decision under subsection (3)(b) and of any alteration made under subsection (7).

(9) Anything done under subsection (2) above is to be treated as done under section 47(1) of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19) (but without prejudice to anything to be done under that section in relation to any other community care services).

(10) Anything done under subsection (3) above is to be treated as done under section 1 or 2 of the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000 (but without prejudice to anything to be done under that section in relation to other services which may be provided to the carer).

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