Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003

5 Duties of responsible NHS body following notice under section 2 E+W

(1) The duties under this section apply where notice of a patient’s case under section 2 has been given.

(2) The responsible NHS body, and any other NHS body which is considering whether to provide services to the patient after discharge, must consult the responsible authority before deciding what services (if any) it will make available to him in order for it to be safe to discharge the patient.

(3) The responsible NHS body must give the responsible authority notice of the day on which it proposes to discharge the patient.

(4) The notice under subsection (3) remains in force until the end of the relevant day, unless it has previously been withdrawn.

(5) The responsible NHS body may withdraw the notice under subsection (3) at any time before the end of the relevant day by giving notice of withdrawal to the responsible authority.

(6) For the purposes of this Part “the relevant day”, in relation to a qualifying hospital patient, is the later of—

(a) the day specified in the notice under subsection (3); and

(b) the last day of the prescribed minimum interval after the notice under section 2 is given.

(7) Regulations may prescribe a period as the minimum interval after a notice under section 2 is given; but that period must—

(a) begin with the day after that on which the notice under section 2 is given; and

(b) be a period of at least two days.

(8) Until 31st March 2005 the period of two days referred to in subsection (7) is exclusive of Sundays and public holidays in England and Wales.

(9) If the notice under subsection (3) is withdrawn before the end of the relevant day—

(a) the duty under subsection (3) applies again; and

(b) when a fresh notice under subsection (3) is given, subsection (6) applies again for the purpose of identifying a new “relevant day”.

(10) Regulations may provide for—

(a) the time at which notices under subsection (3) are to be given;

(b) the form and content of—

(i) notices under subsection (3); and

(ii) withdrawal notices under subsection (5);

and the manner in which such notices are to be given;

(c) circumstances in which notices under subsection (3) must be withdrawn; and

(d) determining the day on which a notice under subsection (3) or a notice of withdrawal under subsection (5) is given (including provision prescribing circumstances in which a notice under subsection (3) is to be treated for any specified purpose as having been given on a day other than that on which it was in fact given).

Commencement Information

I1 S. 5(1)-(6) (9) in force at 1.10.2003 for E. by S.I. 2003/2280, art. 2(2)(a)

I2 S. 5(7)(8)(10) in force at 4.9.2003 for E. by S.I. 2003/2280, art. 2(1)(c)