The Act Schedule 6: Specific offences which are arrestable offences Section 54: Persons authorised to take intimate samples from persons in police detention
301.Section 62(9) of PACE provides that intimate samples other than urine samples or dental impressions may only be taken by a registered medical practitioner and that a dental impression may only be taken by a registered dentist.
302.Subsection (1) amends section 62(9) so that registered health care professionals may also take samples that currently must be taken by a registered medical practitioner.
303.Subsections (2) and (3) define the term ‘registered health care professional’. A registered health care professional is a person (other than a medical practitioner) who is a registered nurse or a registered member of a health care profession which has been designated by the Secretary of State. The health care professions which may be designated are those professions specified in section 60(2) of the Health Act 1999, namely: