The Recovery of Health Services Charges (Northern Ireland) Order 2006

Payments to hospitals or ambulance trusts

Payment of health services charges to hospitals or ambulance trusts

14.—(1) If the Department receives a payment of relevant health services charges under Article 3(2)—

(a)if the payment relates only to health services treatment received at a health services hospital, the Department shall pay the amount received to the responsible body of the health services hospital,

(b)if the payment relates only to the provision of health services ambulance services the Department shall pay the amount received to the relevant ambulance trust,

(c)if the payment relates to health services treatment received at more than one health services hospital, the Department shall divide the amount received among the responsible bodies of the hospitals concerned in such manner as it considers appropriate,

(d)if the payment relates to health services treatment received at one or more health services hospitals and the provision of health services ambulance services, the Department shall divide the amount received among the responsible body or bodies of the hospital or hospitals and any relevant ambulance trusts concerned in such manner as it considers appropriate.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to any amount received by the Department under Article 3(2) which it is required to repay in accordance with regulations under Article 5(2).

(3) Regulations under this Article may—

(a)make provision for the manner in which and intervals at which any payments due under this Article are to be made,

(b)make provision for cases where the responsible body of the health services hospital or relevant ambulance trust concerned has ceased to exist (including provision modifying this Order).

(4) Any amounts received under this Article by the responsible bodies of the health services hospitals concerned shall be used for the purposes of providing goods and services for the benefit of patients receiving health services treatment at those hospitals.

(5) Any amounts received under this Article by the relevant ambulance trusts concerned shall be used for the purposes of health services ambulance services.

(6) In this Article—

“relevant ambulance trust” means the HSS trust which is designated by the Department for the purposes of this Article in relation to the health services hospital to which the injured person was taken for treatment;

“responsible body” has the meaning given in Article 12(4).