2017 No. 132
The Important Public Services (Health) Regulations 2017
Made
Coming into force in accordance with regulation 1
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 226(2D) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 19921, makes the following Regulations.
A draft of these Regulations was laid before Parliament in accordance with section 226(2F) of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 19922 and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
Citation, commencement and interpretation1
1
These Regulations may be cited as the Important Public Services (Health) Regulations 2017.
2
These Regulations come into force on—
a
1st March 2017, or
b
if later, at the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which they are made.
Health services2
1
The following health services are important public services for the purposes of section 226 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992—
a
the ambulance services listed in paragraph (3) provided in an emergency;
b
accident and emergency services in a hospital;
c
services which are provided in high-dependency units and intensive care in a hospital;
d
psychiatric services provided in a hospital for conditions which require immediate attention in order to prevent serious injury, serious illness or loss of life; and
e
obstetric and midwifery services provided in a hospital for conditions which require immediate attention in order to prevent serious injury, serious illness or loss of life.
2
A service referred to in paragraph (1) is not an important public service for the purposes of section 226 if it is provided in a private hospital or by a private ambulance service.
3
The ambulance services referred to in paragraph (1)(a) are—
a
dealing with, and organising a response to, a call made by telephone or another device to an emergency telephone number and received by a provider of ambulance services;
b
the diagnosis or treatment of a person in response to such a call, irrespective of whether the person is subsequently transferred to a hospital, or another place where further health services may be provided; and
c
the conveyance of a person to a hospital or another place where further health services may be provided in response to such a call.
4
For the purposes of this regulation—
a
“emergency telephone number” means the telephone numbers 112 and 999;
b
a “private hospital” is a hospital whose primary purpose is not the provision of publicly funded health services; and
c
a “private ambulance service” is an ambulance or associated transport service whose primary purpose is not the provision of publicly funded ambulance services.
(This note is not part of the Regulations)