National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973

41 Nursing homes and mental nursing homes

(1) There are hereby transferred to the Secretary of State the functions which, immediately before this subsection comes into force, were exercisable by local authorities by virtue of any provision of the following enactments (which relate to the supervision of nursing homes and mental nursing homes), namely, sections 187 and 188 of the Act of 1936 (and section 298 of that Act so far as it relates to those sections) and sections 14 to 18 of the Act of 1959 (and section 23 of that Act so far as it relates to those sections); and any reference in any of the said sections to a local authority shall be construed accordingly.

(2) The Secretary of State may make regulations—

(a) with respect to the registration of persons under Part VI of the Act of 1936 in respect of nursing homes and mental nursing homes (and in particular, without prejudice to the generality of the preceding provisions of this paragraph, with respect to the making of applications for registration, the refusal and cancellation of registration and appeals to magistrates' courts against refusals and cancellations of registration);

(b) with respect to the keeping of records relating to nursing homes and mental nursing homes and with respect to the notification of events occurring in such homes;

(c) with respect to entry into and the inspection of premises used or reasonably believed to be used as a nursing home;

(d) containing such provisions (including provisions for the transfer of staff and provisions applying with prescribed modifications any provision made by virtue of section 19(2) of this Act) as the Secretary of State considers appropriate for the purpose of securing continuity between the system of supervising nursing homes and mental nursing homes which was in operation before the coming into force of the preceding subsection and the system of supervising such homes thereafter;

(e) providing that a contravention or failure to comply with any specified provisions of the regulations shall be an offence against the regulations.

(3) Subsections (2) and (3) of section 1 of the [1963 c. 13.] Nursing Homes Act 1963 (which provide for an offence against regulations under that section to be punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding £20, for cancellation of a person's registration in respect of a nursing home if he has been convicted of such an offence and for making officers of a body corporate which is guilty of such an offence also guilty of the offence) shall apply to an offence against regulations made by virtue of the preceding subsection as they apply to an offence against regulations under that section; and the said subsection (3) shall apply to an offence under section 187 of the Act of 1936 as it applies to an offence against regulations under the said section 1.

(4) In this section—

• " the Act of 1936 " means the [1936 c. 49.] Public Health Act 1936;

• " the Act of 1959 " means the [1959 c. 72.] Mental Health Act 1959;

• " local authority " means the council of a county, county borough, county district or London borough, the Common Council of the City of London, the Sub-Treasurer of the Inner Temple and the Under Treasurer of the Middle Temple;

• " mental nursing home " has the same meaning as in Part III of the Act of 1959 ; and

• " nursing home " has the same meaning as in the Act of 1936.

(5) Sections 189 to 191, 194 and 195 of the Act of 1936 (which contain provisions which are superseded by subsections (2) and (3) of this section) shall cease to have effect.