Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003

Preliminary

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.