Commentary on Sections Assessment notice given by responsible NHS body to local authority
432.Paragraph 2 sets out the process that the responsible NHS body and relevant local authority must follow to ensure a patient with care and support needs can be safely discharged from hospital.
433.There are certain legal obligations that are activated by the discharge of the patient from NHS care. When such a decision has been made and the patient has (or may have) care and support needs, then a safe discharge cannot occur until the NHS and local authority are satisfied that, as sub-paragraph (1) sets out, the patient is ready for discharge and that it is safe for them to be discharged. The NHS body has to give the local authority notice of when it intends to discharge the patient. This is known as a discharge notice.
434.Sub-paragraph (3) provides that the discharge notice must specify whether or not the patient will receive any further health care services upon discharge, and if so, what those services will be.
435.Sub-paragraph (5) sets out the definition of the ‘relevant day’ until which a discharge notice remains in force. This is relevant to defining any delayed discharge period in the event that the local authority is held to be liable under paragraph 4 to pay the NHS body for the cost of accommodation or personal care caused by the delayed discharge from hospital. The ‘relevant day’ would either be the day specified in the discharge notice or the end of a period which regulations may set out.
436.This replicates the provisions set out in section 5 of the 2003 Act and regulation 5 of the Delayed Discharges (England) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2277).
437.Paragraph 3 sets out the responsibilities of the local authority who received an assessment notice. The local authority must carry out an assessment of the patient’s need and, where applicable, the carer’s need, with a view to identifying the care and support that is necessary for them to be safely discharged. The local authority must inform the NHS of the outcome of the assessment.
438.This replicates the provisions in section 4 of the 2003 Act.