The Patients' Forums (Functions) Regulations 2003

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 2003/2124
Year2003

2003 No. 2124

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, ENGLAND

The Patients' Forums (Functions) Regulations 2003

Made 13th August 2003

Laid before Parliament 14th August 2003

Coming into force 1st September 2003

The Secretary of State for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 15 (7), 17(1) to (3), 19(1) and (2)(j) to (p) and 38(5) to (7) of, and paragraph 12(1) and (2) of Schedule 6 to, the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 20021and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

S-1 Citation, commencement, application and interpretation

Citation, commencement, application and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Patients' Forums (Functions) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 1st September 2003.

(2) These Regulations apply to England only.

(3) In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002;

the 1977 Act” means the National Health Service Act 19772;

the 2001 Act” means the Health and Social Care Act 20013;

“the Commission” means the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health established under section 20 of the Act;

“working day” means any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in any part of the United Kingdom.

S-2 Joint exercise of functions and co-operation

Joint exercise of functions and co-operation

2.—(1) Where a PCT Patients' Forum exercises functions in relation to services provided by an NHS trust under arrangements made by the Primary Care Trust for which the Forum is established, the PCT Patients' Forum and the Patients' Forum of that NHS trust shall co-operate with each other in the exercise of those functions.

(2) Where an NHS trust provides services under arrangements made by more than one Primary Care Trust, the Patients' Forums established for the NHS trust and the Primary Care Trusts shall co-operate with each other in the exercise of their functions in relation to those services.

(3) Patients' Forums which have agreed that co-operation or joint exercise of functions would assist them in the exercise of their functions and would be in the interests of the health service, shall co-operate with each other or exercise functions jointly as agreed.

(4) PCT Patients' Forums shall co-operate with each other in determining how best to provide or arrange for the provision of independent advocacy services. Where they agree that it is appropriate, two or more of them shall act jointly in providing or arranging for the provision of those services.

(5) In acting in accordance with paragraphs (1) to (4), Patients' Forums shall have regard to any advice given to them by the Commission.

S-3 Entry and inspection of premises

Entry and inspection of premises

3.—(1) Subject to the following paragraphs of this regulation, persons authorised in writing by a Patients' Forum may at any reasonable time enter and inspect premises owned or controlled by—

(a)

(a) in the case of a PCT Patients' Forum, those mentioned in paragraph (3);

(b)

(b) in the case of a Patients' Forum established for an NHS trust, that NHS trust,

and, except where, in the opinion of those persons or bodies, this would compromise the effective provision of health services or patients' safety, privacy or dignity, and without prejudice to paragraph (2), those persons and bodies shall comply with any request for entry.

(2) Each person authorised by a Patients' Forum under paragraph (1) shall be furnished with written evidence of his authority and, on making a request for entry to any premises referred to in paragraph (1) for the purposes specified in that paragraph, if so requested by the owner or occupier of those premises or a person acting on either of their behalf, shall produce that evidence.

(3) Those referred to in paragraph (1)(a) are—

(a)

(a) Primary Care Trusts;

(b)

(b) Local Health Boards;

(c)

(c) local authorities;

(d)

(d) NHS trusts;

(e)

(e) persons providing services under Part 2 of the 1977 Act or under arrangements under section 28C of that Act;

(f)

(f) persons providing piloted services under pilot schemes established under section 28 of the 2001 Act, or providing services under an LPS scheme established under Schedule 8A to the 1977 Act; or

(g)

(g) persons who own or control premises where services as mentioned in (e) or (f) are provided.

(4) A person authorised by a Patients' Forum under paragraph (1) may not enter any premises or part of premises used as residential accommodation—

(a)

(a) by persons employed by any of the bodies referred to in paragraphs (3)(a) to (d);or

(b)

(b) by persons referred to in paragraphs (3) (e) to (g),

without first having obtained the consent of those persons.

(5) In exercising rights of entry and inspection under this regulation, a Patients' Forum shall have regard to the need to safeguard patients' safety, privacy and dignity, the need not to compromise the effective provision of health services, and to any advice given to it by the Commission.

S-4 Annual accounts

Annual accounts

4.—(1) A Patients' Forum shall prepare and keep annual accounts in respect of each financial year which shall give a true and fair view of any income and expenditure and cash flows of the...

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