Health Services Act 1976

4 Functions of Board as regards withdrawal of NHS facilities from private patients

(1) It shall be the duty of the Board to submit to the Secretary of State from time to time in accordance with this section proposals for the progressive revocation of—

(a) the authorisations under section 1(1) of the 1968 Act (use of accommodation and services at NHS hospitals for resident private patients) which are in force at the end of the initial period or are by virtue of section 5(4) below granted thereafter ; and

(b) the authorisations under section 2(1) of that Act (use of such accommodation and services for non-resident private patients) which are in force at the passing of this Act or are by virtue of section 5(4) below granted thereafter ;

and it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to give effect to all proposals so submitted.

(2) The Board—

(a) shall submit its first proposals under this section within the initial period or such longer period as the Secretary of State may allow ; and

(b) shall in the six months beginning with the date on which the first proposals are submitted, and in each successive period of six months thereafter, submit further proposals under this section or, if in all the circumstances it decides that the submission of further proposals in any particular period of six months is unnecessary, shall instead prepare and submit to the Secretary of State a report explaining the Board's reasons for that decision.

(3) In formulating proposals under this section the Board shall—

(a) have regard to the principles set out in subsection (8) below; and

(b) consider any representations made to the Board by—

(i) the Secretary of State ;

(ii) any body which is representative of medical practitioners or dental practitioners or of persons employed in one or other of the national health services or concerned with the interests of patients at NHS hospitals;

(iii) any other person having a substantial interest in the proposals ;

and in deciding what advice to give the Board in connection with the formulation of any such proposals the Scottish Committee and the Welsh Committee shall likewise have regard to the principles set out in the said subsection (8) and shall consider any representations made to the Committee by any of the persons or bodies above mentioned.

(4) Without prejudice to subsection (3) above, the Board in formulating proposals under this section for the revocation of authorisations given under section 2(1) of the 1968 Act in respect of accommodation or services at any particular NHS hospital or hospitals, and the Scottish or Welsh Committee in deciding what advice to give the Board in connection with the formulation of any such proposals—

(a) shall have regard to the purposes and specialties for which the accommodation or services in question are available for use in connection with the treatment of non-resident private patients ; and

(b) shall apply the principles set out in subsection (8) below separately in respect of different purposes and specialties;

and the Board may formulate separate proposals in respect of different purposes or specialties accordingly.

(5) As regards the revocation of authorisations under section 2(1) of the 1968 Act, any proposals under this section relating to—

(a) accommodation available to consultants for the purpose of affording consultations to their private patients, or

(b) accommodation and services available for the following specialties, namely radiotherapy, diagnostic pathology and diagnostic radiology (including scanning, ultrasonics and methods involving the use of radio-isotopes),

shall be formulated by the Board as separate proposals; and without prejudice to the preceding provisions of this section, the Board's first proposals thereunder shall include separate proposals relating to accommodation available to consultants as mentioned in paragraph (a) above.

(6) Without prejudice to the preceding provisions of this section, the Board shall, as regards the revocation of authorisations under section 2(1) of the 1968 Act, submit separate proposals under this section relating to—

(a) accommodation and services available for the specialties other than radiotherapy mentioned in subsection (5)(b) above; and

(b) other accommodation and services available for diagnostic purposes,

and shall do so not later than the end of the twelve months following the initial period (or, if a period longer than the initial period is allowed under subsection (2)(a) above for the submission of the Board's first proposals under this section, the twelve months following that longer period).

(7) Each set of proposals under this section shall specify—

(a) the accommodation and services authorisation of which under the said section 1(1) or 2(1) should be revoked ; and

(b) the date before which the necessary revocations should take effect,

and may specify different dates for different accommodation or services so specified.

(8) The principles referred to above are—

(a) that accommodation or services at any particular NHS hospital or hospitals should remain authorised under section 1(1) or 2(1) of the 1968 Act for use in connection with the treatment of resident or non-resident private patients only while there is a reasonable demand for accommodation and facilities for the private practice of medicine and dentistry in the area or areas served by the hospital or hospitals in question;

(b) that the authorisation of any such accommodation or services under those provisions for use in that connection should be revoked only if sufficient accommodation and facilities for the private practice of medicine and dentistry are otherwise reasonably available (whether privately or at NHS hospitals) to meet the reasonable demand for them in the area or areas served by the hospital or hospitals in question;

(c) that the continued authorisation of any such accommodation or services under those provisions for use in that connection should depend on there having been or being taken all reasonable steps to provide, otherwise than at NHS hospitals, sufficient reasonable accommodation and facilities for the private practice of medicine and dentistry to meet the reasonable demand for them in the area or areas served by the hospital or hospitals in question ;

(d) that failure, in the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (c) above, to take all reasonable steps that could be taken to provide as mentioned in that paragraph would itself be grounds for the Board, after giving due warning to persons likely to be affected thereby of the likely consequences of such failure, to propose the revocation of the authorisations under those provisions relating to accommodation or services at the hospital or hospitals in question.

(9) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to furnish the Board with such information as it may reasonably require for the proper discharge of its functions under this and the following section.