Health and Social Care Act 2008
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 2008 c. 14 |
| Year | 2008 |
Health and Social Care Act 2008
2008 Chapter 14
An Act to establish and make provision in connection with a Care Quality Commission; to make provision about health care (including provision about the National Health Service) and about social care; to make provision about reviews and investigations under the Mental Health Act 1983; to establish and make provision in connection with an Office of the Health Professions Adjudicator and make other provision about the regulation of the health care professions; to confer power to modify the regulation of social care workers; to amend the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984; to provide for the payment of a grant to women in connection with pregnancy; to amend the functions of the Health Protection Agency; and for connected purposes.
[21st July 2008]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part 1
The Care Quality Commission
Introductory
Introductory
1 The Care Quality Commission
(1) There is to be a body corporate known as the Care Quality Commission (referred to in this Part as "the Commission").
(2) The Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission are dissolved.
(3) Schedule 1 (which makes further provision about the Care Quality Commission) has effect.
2 The Commission's functions
(1) The Commission has the functions conferred on it by or under any enactment.
(2) Those functions include—
(a) registration functions under Chapter 2,
(b) review and investigation functions under Chapter 3, and
(c) functions under the Mental Health Act 1983 (c. 20) .
3 The Commission's objectives
(1) The main objective of the Commission in performing its functions is to protect and promote the health, safety and welfare of people who use health and social care services.
(2) The Commission is to perform its functions for the general purpose of encouraging—
(a) the improvement of health and social care services,
(b) the provision of health and social care services in a way that focuses on the needs and experiences of people who use those services, and
(c) the efficient and effective use of resources in the provision of health and social care services.
(3) In this Chapter "health and social care services" means the services to which the Commission's functions relate.
4 Matters to which the Commission must have regard
(1) In performing its functions the Commission must have regard to—
(a) views expressed by or on behalf of members of the public about health and social care services,
(b) experiences of people who use health and social care services and their families and friends,
(c) views expressed by local involvement networks about the provision of health and social care services in their areas,
(d) the need to protect and promote the rights of people who use health and social care services (including, in particular, the rights of children, of persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983, of persons who are deprived of their liberty in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (c. 9) , and of other vulnerable adults),
(e) the need to ensure that action by the Commission in relation to health and social care services is proportionate to the risks against which it would afford safeguards and is targeted only where it is needed,
(f) any developments in approaches to regulatory action, and
(g) best practice among persons performing functions comparable to those of the Commission (including the principles under which regulatory action should be transparent, accountable and consistent).
(2) In performing its functions the Commission must also have regard to such aspects of government policy as the Secretary of State may direct.
(3) In subsection (1)(c), "local involvement network" has the meaning given by section 222(2) of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (c. 28)
.
5 Statement on user involvement
(1) The Commission must publish a statement describing how it proposes to—
(a) promote awareness among service users and carers of its functions,
(b) promote and engage in discussion with service users and carers about the provision of health and social care services and about the way in which the Commission exercises its functions,
(c) ensure that proper regard is had to the views expressed by service users and carers, and
(d) arrange for any of its functions to be exercised by, or with the assistance of, service users and carers.
(2) The Commission may from time to time revise the statement and must publish any revised statement.
(3) Before publishing the statement (or revised statement) the Commission must consult such persons as it considers appropriate.
(4) In this section—
(a) "service users" means people who use health or social care services, and
(b) "carers" means people who care for service users as relatives or friends.
6 Transfers of property, rights and liabilities
Schedule 2 (which makes provision for the transfer of property, rights and liabilities) has effect.
7 Meaning of ‘health and social care services’ in Chapter 1
In this Chapter "health and social care services" has the meaning given by section 3(3).
Registration in respect of provision of health or social care
Introductory
8 ‘Regulated activity’
(1) In this Part "regulated activity" means an activity of a prescribed kind.
(2) An activity may be prescribed for the purposes of subsection (1) only if—
(a) the activity involves, or is connected with, the provision of health or social care in, or in relation to, England, and
(b) the activity does not involve the carrying on of any establishment or agency, within the meaning of the Care Standards Act 2000 (c. 14) , for which Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills is the registration authority under that Act.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), activities connected with the provision of health or social care include, in particular—
(a) the supply of staff who are to provide such care;
(b) the provision of transport or accommodation for those who require such care;
(c) the provision of advice in respect of such care.
9 ‘Health or social care’
(1) This section has effect for the interpretation of this Part.
(2) "Health care" includes all forms of health care provided for individuals, whether relating to physical or mental health, and also includes procedures that are similar to forms of medical or surgical care but are not provided in connection with a medical condition.
(3) "Social care" includes all forms of personal care and other practical assistance provided for individuals who by reason of age, illness, disability, pregnancy, childbirth, dependence on alcohol or drugs, or any other similar circumstances, are in need of such care or other assistance.
(4) "Health or social care" means health care or social care.
Registration of persons carrying on regulated activities
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