National Health Service Act 1977

Local administrationE+W+S

[F18 Health Authorities.E+W+S

(1)It is the duty of the Secretary of State by order to establish, in accordance with Part I of Schedule 5 to this Act, authorities to be called Health Authorities.

(2)Subject to subsection (4) below, a Health Authority shall act for such area of England or of Wales as is specified in the order establishing the authority [F2or, if the order so provides, for the whole of Wales].

(3)A Health Authority shall be known by such name, in addition to the title ”Health Authority”, as—

(a)appears to the Secretary of State appropriately to signify the connection of the Health Authority with the area for which the authority are to act; and

(b)is specified in the order establishing the authority.

(4)The Secretary of State may by order—

(a)vary a Health Authority’s area;

(b)abolish a Health Authority; or

(c)establish a new Health Authority.

(5)The Secretary of State shall act under this section so as to secure—

(a)that the areas for which Health Authorities are at any time acting together comprise the whole of England and Wales; but

(b)that no area for which a Health Authority act extends both into England and into Wales.

(6)The power to make incidental or supplemental provision conferred by section 126(4) below includes in particular, in its application to orders made under this section, power to make provision for the transfer of staff, property, rights and liabilities.]

9. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F3E+W+S

[F410. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11[F7Special Health Authorities.]E+W+S

(1)If the Secretary of State considers that a special body should be established for the purpose of performing any functions which he may direct the body to perform on his behalf, or on behalf of an . . . F8 . . . F8[F9a Health Authority], he may by order establish a body for that purpose.

(2)The Secretary of State may, subject to the provisions of Part III of Schedule 5 to this Act, make such further provision relating to that body as he thinks fit.

(3)A body established in pursuance of this section shall (without prejudice to the power conferred by subsection (4) below allocate a particular name to the body) be called a [F10Special Health Authorities].

(4)Without prejudice to the generality of the power conferred by this section to make an order (or of section 126(4) below), that order may in particular contain provisions as to—

(a)the membership of the body established by the order;

(b)the transfer to the body of officers, property, rights and liabilities; and

(c)the name by which the body is to be known.

(5)It is the Secretary of State’s duty before he makes such an order to consult with respect to the order such bodies as he may recognise as representing officers who in his opinion are likely to be transferred or affected by transfers in pursuance of the order.

12 Supplementary provisions for ss. 8 [F11and] 11.E+W+S

[F12(1)Every Health Authority shall make arrangements for securing that they receive from—

(a)medical practitioners, registered nurses and registered midwives; and

(b)other persons with professional expertise in and experience of health care,

advice appropriate for enabling the Health Authority effectively to exercise the functions conferred or imposed on them under or by virtue of this or any other Act.]

[F13(2)] The provisions of Part III of Schedule 5 to this Act have effect, so far as applicable, in relation to—

[F14(a)Health Authorities established under section 8 above; and

(b)any Special Health Authority established under section 11 above.]

13 Secretary of State’s directions.E+W+S

(1)The Secretary of State may direct a [F15Health Authority or Special Health Authority] to exercise on his behalf such of his functions relating to the health service as are specified in the directions, and F16. . . it shall be the duty of the [F17Health Authority or Special Health Authority] to comply with the directions.

(2)The Secretary of State’s functions under subsection (1) above—

(a)include any of his functions under enactments relating to mental health and nursing homes, F18. . .

(b). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F1914. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .E+W+S

15[F20Duty of Health Authority in relation to family health services.]E+W+S

(1)It is the duty of [F21each Health Authority, in accordance with regulations]—

[F22(a)to administer the arrangements made in pursuance of this Act for the provision of general medical services, general dental services, general ophthalmic services and pharmaceutical services for their [F23area];]

(b)to perform such [F24management and] other functions relating to those services as may be prescribed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F25

[F26(1ZA)It is the duty of each Health Authority, in accordance with regulations, to perform such functions in relation to section 28C arrangements as may be prescribed.

(1ZB)Regulations under subsection (1ZA) may, in particular—

(a)prescribe functions in relation to training;

(b)provide for appeals to the Secretary of State or a prescribed body in relation to functions prescribed by the regulations.]

F27(1A). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F28(1B)In relation to a Part II medical practitioner—

(a)whose name is included in the medical list of only one Health Authority, and

(b)who practises on his own or in partnership with others all of whom are Part II medical practitioners whose names are included only in that Authority’s medical list,

any reference in this Act or the M1National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 to the relevant Health Authority is to be construed as a reference to that Authority.

(1BA)In relation to a medical practitioner who is not within subsection (1B), any reference in this Act or the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 to the relevant Health Authority is to be construed as a reference to the Authority in whose area most of the practice patients live.]

[F29(1C)In relation to the operation of a fund-holding practice by medical practitioners the relevant Health Authority in respect of one or more of whom would (apart from this subsection) be different from that in respect of the other or others, the relevant Health Authority for each of them shall be determined for the purposes of the application of any provision relating to fund-holding practices as if they were all practising in a single partnership.]

[F30(1D)In this section—

• ”Part II medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner who provides general medical services under Part II and does not perform personal medical services under section 28C arrangements; and

• ”practice patient” means—

  (a)

  in relation to a medical practitioner who practises otherwise than in partnership, an individual who is on that practitioner’s list of patients (or, if that practitioner and one or more other medical practitioners together have a single list of patients in connection with section 28C arrangements, an individual who is on that single list);

  (b)

  in relation to a medical practitioner who is one of two or more practitioners who practise in partnership with each other, an individual who is on the list of patients of any of those practitioners (or, if any of those practitioners together have a single list of patients in connection with section 28C arrangements, an individual who is on that single list).]

(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F31

[F3216 Exercise of functions.E+W+S

(1)Regulations may provide for functions exercisable by a Health Authority under or by virtue of this Act or the M2National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990, or under or by virtue of any prescribed provision of any other Act, to be exercisable—

(a)on behalf of the Health Authority—

(i)by another Health Authority;

(ii)by a committee or sub-committee, or an officer, of the Health Authority or another Health Authority;

(iii)by a joint committee, or joint sub-committee, of the Health Authority and one or more other Health Authorities;

(iv)by a Special Health Authority; or

(v)by an officer of a Special Health Authority; or

(b)by the Health Authority jointly with one or more other Health Authorities.

(2)Regulations may provide for functions exercisable by a Special Health Authority by virtue of section 11 or 13 above to be exercisable—

(a)on behalf of the Special Health Authority—

(i)by another Special Health Authority;

(ii)by a committee or sub-committee, or an officer, of the Special Health Authority or another Special Health Authority; or

(iii)by a joint committee, or joint sub-committee, of the Special Health Authority and one or more other Special Health Authorities; or

(b)by the Special Health Authority jointly with one or more other Special Health Authorities.]