{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/delayed-discharges-england-regulations-2003/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/delayed-discharges-england-regulations-2003/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2003/2277",
  "legislation_title": "The Delayed Discharges (England) Regulations 2003",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/delayed-discharges-england-regulations-2003",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese regulations make provision for the details of the delayed discharges scheme under the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc.) Act 2003. The Act deals with how the NHS and local authorities must deal with patients whose discharge from hospital is delayed. The Act makes provision for co-operative working in order to avoid delayed discharges, and requires local authorities to reimburse the relevant NHS body where a patient’s discharge has been delayed due to a failure of the local social services authority.\nRegulation 3 prescribes the type of care which a patient must be receiving in order to come within the provisions of the Act.\nRegulation 4 sets out details of the notice which the relevant NHS body must give to the local social services authority to inform it that there is a patient who is likely to need community care services upon discharge, and Regulation 5 sets out details of the notice which the relevant NHS body must give as to the proposed discharge date.\nRegulation 6 prescribes the minimum period that the local authority must have to assess the patient’s need for community care services and decide what services it will provide, and regulation 7 prescribes the daily amount the local authority must pay to the relevant NHS body as reimbursement for the cost of the patient’s care if the local authority have not assessed the patient and put in place services within the time frame set out in the Act.\nRegulation 8 provides for circumstances in which days will not count as part of the delayed discharge period, for which the local authority is liable to make a reimbursement payment, and regulation 9 provides for circumstances in which the delayed discharge period will come to an end.\nRegulation 10 makes provision as to what is to be regarded as the day on which a notice given by the relevant NHS body is given, and regulation 11 makes provision as to what is to be regarded as the discharge day.\nRegulation 12 requires Strategic Health Authorities to keep lists of persons from which panels can be appointed to assist in the resolution of disputes between public authorities arising under or in relation to Part 1 of the Act. Regulation 13 makes provision for the inclusion and removal of a person’s name from the lists. Regulation 14 provides for public authorities to make an application for assistance with resolving a dispute. Regulation 15 provides for the appointment of a panel to assist with the resolution of a dispute. Regulation 16 makes provision for the procedure to be applied to the panels and for the panel to make recommendations for resolution of the dispute. Regulation 17 provides that a public authority cannot bring legal proceedings in relation to a dispute arising under or in relation to Part 1 of the Act until a panel has made recommendations.\nRegulation 18 concerns the ordinary residence of the patient, and details which local authority is under a duty to act in relation to a patient, depending on the patient’s ordinary residence. It also allows a local authority who has wrongly acted in relation to a patient to claim reimbursement from the correct local authority.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2277/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T06:00:06.602189+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}