Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025

Prospective

24 Provision of information by and to health care services S

(1) The Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007 is modified as follows.

(2) After section 5 insert—

“5A Disclosure of information by and to certain health care services

(1) Where a relevant health care service knows or believes—

(a) that a person is an adult at risk, and

(b) that action needs to be taken (under this Part or otherwise) in order to protect that person from harm,

the relevant health care service may report the facts and circumstances of the case to the council for the area in which it considers the person to be.

(2) A relevant health care service may, of its own accord, provide any information to a public body or office-holder listed in, or specified under, section 5(1) for the purpose of enabling or assisting a council in relation to its duty to make inquiries under section 4.

(3) The public bodies or office-holders listed in, or specified under, section 5(1) may, so far as consistent with the proper exercise of their functions, provide any information to a relevant health care service for the purpose of enabling or assisting a council in relation to its duty to make inquiries under section 4.

(4) For the purposes of this section, a “relevant health care service” means an undertaking which consists of or includes the provision of services by—

(a) a doctor,

(b) a dental practitioner,

(c) a dental care professional,

(d) a nurse,

(e) a midwife,

(f) a registered pharmacist,

(g) a registered pharmacy technician,

(h) an occupational therapist,

(i) a paramedic,

(j) an optometrist.

(5) In this section—

• “dental practitioner” has the meaning given in section 108(1) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978,

• “dental care professional” has the meaning given in section 10F(2B) of that Act,

• “registered pharmacist” has the meaning given in section 108(1) of that Act,

• “registered pharmacy technician” has the meaning given in section 10F(2B) of that Act,

• “occupational therapist” means a person who is registered in the part of the register maintained by the Health and Care Professions Council under article 5 of the Health Professions Order 2001 (S.I. 2002/254) relating to occupational therapists,

• “paramedic” means a person who is registered in the part of the register maintained by the Health and Care Professions Council under article 5 of the Health Professions Order 2001 relating to paramedics,

• “optometrist” means a person registered in the register of optometrists maintained under section 7 of the Opticians Act 1989.

(6) The Scottish Ministers may by order modify subsections (4) and (5) so as to change or clarify the types of undertaking which are to be treated as a relevant health care service for the purposes of this section.”.

(3) In section 44 (committee procedure), for subsection (2) substitute—

“(2) But those procedures must allow committee meetings to be attended by—

(a) a representative of—

(i) the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland,

(ii) the Public Guardian,

(iii) SCSWIS (where it has not nominated a representative to be a member of the Committee), and

(b) any other person as the Scottish Ministers may by order specify.”.

(4) After section 45 insert—

“45A Disclosure of information to the Committee by certain health care services

(1) A relevant health care service may provide any information to an Adult Protection Committee which the Committee requests.

(2) A Committee may only request information under this section if it appears to it to be appropriate for the purpose of performing its functions.

(3) For the purposes of this section, a “relevant health care service” has the meaning given in section 5A(4).”.

(5) In section 46 (biennial report), in paragraph (vi), for “public body or office-holder” substitute “person”.

(6) In section 78 (orders), in subsection (4), after “section” insert “5A or”.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 24 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 39(2)