Commentary on Sections Part 2 – Staffing in the NHS Section 5 – Application of duties to certain Special Health Boards
43.This section applies the provisions set out in sections 2 and 4 of the Act to certain Special Health Boards – referred to as ‘relevant Special Health Boards’ elsewhere in the Act – the State Hospital Board, NHS 24, the National Waiting Times Centre Board and the Scottish Ambulance Service Board– by amending their governing secondary legislation. The relevant duties are to be applied to these Special Health Boards in particular because they provide clinical health care services to patients (as opposed to providing general support services). In the case of the Scottish Ambulance Service, the requirement to use the common staffing method under section 12IJ does not apply, since no existing staffing level tools are relevant to the health care which they provide, and so the duties in relation to reporting and following guidance under sections 12IM and 12IN are more limited.