National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1972

PART I — Duties and Powers of Secretary of State

General duty of Secretary of State

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• (1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State so to exercise the powers and perform the duties conferred and imposed on him by the Health Service Acts as to provide or secure the effective provision of an integrated health service in Scotland.

• (2) In pursuance of that duty and of the duty imposed on him by section 1 of the Act of 1947, the Secretary of State shall have the powers and duties conferred on him by' this Act.

Provision of accommodation and medical, etc., services

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• (1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to provide throughout Scotland, to such extent as he considers necessary to meet all reasonable requirements, accommodation and services of the following descriptions—

• (a) hospital accommodation, including accommodation at State hospitals within the meaning of section 89 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1960 ;

• (b) premises other than hospitals at which facilities are available for any of the services provided under the Health Service Acts;

• (c) medical, nursing and other services, whether in such accommodation or premises, in the home of the patient or elsewhere.

• (2) Where accommodation or premises provided under this section afford facilities for the provision of general medical, dental or ophthalmic services or of pharmaceutical services, they shall be made available for those services on such terms and conditions as the Secretary of State may determine.

• (3) The Secretary of State may permit any person to whom this subsection applies to use the facilities available at accommodation or premises provided under this section for the purposes of private practice on such terms and conditions as the Secretary of State may determine.

• (4) The persons to whom subsection (3) above applies, being persons who provide services under the Health Service Acts, are as follows—

• (a) medical practitioners;

• (b) dental practitioners;

• (c) pharmacists;

• (d) ophthalmic and dispensing opticians ; and

• (e) such other persons as the Secretary of State may determine.

Provision of medical, dental, etc., services

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It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to secure the provision of general medical, general dental, pharmaceutical and general ophthalmic services in accordance with the provisions of Part IV of the Act of 1947.

Prevention of illness, care and after-care

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• (1) The Secretary of State shall make arrangements, to such extent as he considers necessary to meet all reasonable requirements, for the purposes of the prevention of illness, the care of persons suffering from illness or the after-care of such persons.

• (2) Regulations may provide for the recovery of such charges as may be prescribed, in respect of such services provided by the Secretary of State under this section, otherwise than in a hospital, as may be prescribed, and may provide for the remission of any such charge, in whole or in part, in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

• (3) In this section and in section 5 of this Act, " hospital" includes any maternity home, any institution for the reception and treatment of persons during convalescence or persons requiring medical rehabilitation, any institution for providing dental treatment and maintained in connection with a dental school, and clinics, dispensaries and out-patient departments maintained in connection with any hospital or such institution or home as aforesaid.

Care of mothers and young children

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• (1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to make arrangements, to such extent as he considers necessary, for the care, including in particular medical and dental care, of expectant mothers and nursing mothers and of young children.

• (2) Regulations may provide for the recovery of such charges as may be prescribed, in respect of such articles or services provided by the Secretary of State under this section, otherwise than in a hospital (not being a drug, a medicine or an appliance of a type normally supplied), as may be prescribed, and may provide for the remission of any such charge, in whole or in part, in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

Medical and dental inspection, supervision and treatment of pupils and young persons

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• (1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to provide for the medical and dental inspection, at appropriate intervals, and for the medical and dental supervision of all pupils in attendance at any school under the management of an education authority and of all young persons in attendance at any junior college or other educational establishment under such management.

• (2) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to make such arrangements as are necessary for securing that there are available for such pupils and young persons as aforesaid comprehensive facilities for free medical and dental treatment.

• (3) It shall be the duty of every education authority to make arrangements for encouraging and assisting pupils and young persons to take advantage of facilities for medical and dental treatment made available under subsection (2) above:

Provided that if the parent of any child or young person gives notice to the authority that he objects to the child or young person availing himself of the said facilities, the child or young person shall not be encouraged or assisted to do so.

• (4) It shall be the duty of every education authority to afford sufficient and suitable facilities for the medical and dental inspection, supervision and treatment, described in subsections (1) and (2) above.

• (5) Expressions used in this section have the same meanings as in the Education (Scotland) Act 1962.

Vaccination and immunisation

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• (1) The Secretary of State shall have power to make arrangements with medical practitioners for the vaccination or immunisation of persons against any disease, either by medical practitioners or by persons acting under their direction and control.

• (2) In making arrangements under this section, the Secretary of State shall, in so far as is reasonably practicable, give every medical practitioner providing general medical services under Part IV of the Act of 1947 an opportunity to provide services under this section.

• (3) The Secretary of State may, either directly or by another person, supply free of charge to medical practitioners providing services under this section, vaccines, sera or other preparations for vaccinating or immunising persons against any disease.

Family planning

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• (1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to make arrangements, to such extent as he considers necessary, for the giving of advice on contraception, the medical examination of persons seeking advice on contraception, the treatment of such persons and the supply of contraceptive substances or appliances.

• (2) Regulations may provide for the recovery of charges from persons availing themselves of any service under the foregoing subsection (except advice on contraception), and may provide for the remission of any such charge, in whole or in part, in such circumstances as may be prescribed.

Educational and research facilities

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It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to make available such facilities, in any premises provided by him under the Health Service Acts, as appear to him to be reasonably required for undergraduate and post-graduate clinical teaching and research and for the education and training of persons providing or intending to provide services under those Acts.

Health education

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The Secretary of State shall have power to disseminate, by whatever means, information relating to the promotion and maintenance of health and the prevention of illness.

Residential and practice accommodation

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• (1) The Secretary of State may provide, on such terms and conditions as may be agreed, residential accommodation for officers employed for the purposes of any of his functions under the Health Service Acts, or for officers employed by a voluntary organisation for the purposes of any service provided under this Part of this Act.

• (2) The Secretary of State may, in any case, in view of the special circumstances thereof, provide, on such terms and conditions as may be agreed.—

• (a) residential accommodation for medical and dental practitioners providing services under Part IV of the Act of 1947 ;

• (b) practice accommodation for such medical and dental practitioners and for such other persons providing services under the Health Service Acts as he thinks fit.

• (3) In subsection (2) above, " practice accommodation ", in relation to a person providing services of any kind, means accommodation suitable for the provision of services of that kind.

Amendments of Part II of the Act of 1947 and of Part I of the Act of 1968

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• (1) The powers exercisable under sections 3(3), 3(4) and 4 of the Act of 1947 and under Part I of the Act of 1968 shall cease to be limited by the use of the term " hospital and specialist services " in those provisions.

• (2) In section 16 of the Act of 1947 (ambulances), at the end of subsection (1) there shall be added the words " or of other persons for whom such transport is reasonably required in order to avail themselves of any service under the National Health Service (Scotland) Acts 1947 to 1972 " , and subsection (2) shall cease to have effect.

• (3) In section 17 of the Act of 1947 (research), in subsection (1), for the words from " to the development" to the end there shall be substituted the words " into such other matters relating to the health service as he thinks fit " , and subsection (2) shall cease to have effect.

• (4) In section 18 of the Act of 1947 (bacteriological service), in subsection (1), the word " bacteriological" is hereby repealed, and subsection (2) shall cease to have effect.

• (5) In section 19 of the Act of 1947 (blood transfusion and other services), the words " in providing hospital and specialist services " are hereby repealed, and for the words " local health authorities and medical practitioners " there shall be substituted the words " medical practitioners and other persons ".

PART II — Health Boards, etc.

Health Boards

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• (1) The Secretary of State shall by order constitute, in accordance with Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act, boards to be called Health Boards, for such areas as he may by order determine, for the purpose of exercising functions with respect to the administration of such health services provided by him as he may by order determine, and for the purpose of making arrangements on his behalf for the provision of the services mentioned in Part IV of the Act of 1947.

• (2) The order or orders made under subsection (1) above determining the areas for which the Health Boards are to be constituted shall be separate from the order or orders constituting those Boards, and, before making any order determining such an area, the Secretary of State shall consult with such bodies and organisations as appear to him to be concerned.

• (3) The Secretary of State may by order vary the area of any Health Board, whether or not the variation involves the constitution of a new Board or the termination of the functions of an existing Board, and, before making such an order, the Secretary of State shall consult with such bodies and organisations as appear to him to be concerned.

• (4) Any order under subsection (3) above may make provision for any supplementary and incidental matters for which it appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient to provide, in particular for the transfer of officers and of property and liabilities.

• (5) In carrying out the purposes mentioned in subsection (1) above, each Health Board shall act subject to, and in accordance with, regulations and such directions as may be given by the Secretary of State, and such regulations and directions may be made or given generally or to meet the circumstances of a particular area or matter.

• (6) Regulations under subsection (5) above shall make provision requiring Health Boards to submit to the Secretary of State a scheme for the exercise of their functions, and enabling the Secretary of State to approve, with or without modifications, any such scheme and to make such a scheme in the event of the failure of any Health Board so to do.

• (7) A Health Board may at any time, and if directed by the Secretary of State shall, within such period as he may specify, submit a new scheme for the exercise of their functions, and regulations mentioned in subsection (6) above shall, with any necessary modifications, apply to any such scheme.

• (8) Where it appears to the Secretary of State to be expedient in the interests of efficiency that a joint committee should be established for the areas of two or more Health Boards for the purpose of exercising some but not all of their functions, the Secretary of State may by order constitute such a joint committee and provide for the exercise by that committee of such of those functions as may be specified in the order, and for the application, with such modifications as may be so specified, to that committee of any provisions of the Health Service Acts relating to those functions, and for any of the matters for which, in relation to a Health Board, provision is or may be made by or under Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act.

• (9) A Health Board shall, notwithstanding that it is exercising functions on behalf of the Secretary of State, be entitled to enforce any rights acquired, and shall be liable in respect of any liabilities incurred (including liability in damages for wrongful or negligent acts or omissions) in the exercise of those functions in all respects as if the Health Board were acting as a principal, and all proceedings for the enforcement of such rights or liabilities shall be brought by or against the Health Board in its own name.

• (10) A Health Board shall not be entitled to claim in any proceedings any privilege of the Crown in respect of the recovery or production of documents, but this subsection shall be without prejudice to any right of the Crown to withhold or procure the withholding from production of any document on the ground that its disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.

• (11) The supplementary provisions contained in Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect in relation to the Boards constituted under this section.

Local health councils

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• (1) Every Health Board shall, within such period as the Secretary of State may specify, submit to him a scheme for the establishment of a local health council or councils for their area or for such districts covering their whole area as the Board thinks fit, and it shall be the general function of any such council to represent the interests of the public in the health service in the area or district for which they have been established.

• (2) A scheme under subsection (1) above shall provide for the appointment by local authorities in or for the area or district concerned of such number of members of the local health council as may be prescribed, and for the appointment by the Health Board, after consultation with such other organisations as may be specified in the scheme, of such number of members as may be so specified.

• (3) The members of a local health council may appoint one of their own number as the chairman of the council.

• (4) The Secretary of State may approve, without or without modifications, any scheme submitted to him under subsection (1) above, or may refuse to approve it.

• (5) A Health Board may at any time, and if directed by the Secretary of State shall, within such period as he may specify, submit a new scheme under this section, and subsection (4) above shall apply to any such new scheme.

• (6) The Secretary of State shall pay to members of a local health council, the committees and sub-committees thereof such travelling and other allowances, including compensation for loss of remunerative time, as he may, with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service, from time to time determine.

• (7) Allowances shall not be paid under subsection (6) above except in connection with the performance of such powers or duties, in such circumstances, as the Secretary of State may determine.

• (8) Health Boards shall consult with local health councils on such occasions and to such extent as may be prescribed.

• (9) Regulations may make provision—

• (a) enabling local health councils to consider questions relating to the health service in their area or district, whether at the request of their Health Board or otherwise, and to advise the Health Board thereon;

• (b) enabling or requiring local health councils to submit reports to their Health Board on the operation of the health service in their area or district;

• (c) requiring local health councils to submit annual reports on their activities to their Health Board and requiring Health Boards to transmit a copy of any such report to the Secretary of State ;

• (d) enabling local health councils to obtain information from their Health Board on such subjects and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed;

• (e) enabling or requiring members of a local health council to visit establishments administered by their Health Board, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed ;

• (f) relating to the submission of schemes under subsection (1) above, and to the functions, procedures, staffing and expenses of local health councils.

University Liaison Committees

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• (1) The Secretary of State may by order constitute, in accordance with Part II of Schedule 1 to this Act, for the area of a Health Board or for the combined areas of two or more Boards, a University Liaison Committee for the purpose of advising that Board or those Boards on the administration of the health service in the area or combined areas so far as relating to the provision of facilities for undergraduate or post-graduate clinical teaching or for research, and for the purpose of advising that Board or those Boards and the university or universities concerned on any matter of common interest to them.

• (2) The supplementary provisions contained in Part III of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect in relation to the Committees constituted under this section.

Local consultative committees

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• (1) Where, after consultation with the Health Board concerned, the Secretary of State is satisfied that a committee formed for the area of the Board is representative—