# The National Health Service (Complaints) Amendment Regulations 2006, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend, from 1st September 2006, the National Health Service (Complaints) Regulations 2004 (“the Principal Regulations”), which detail the procedure for the handling of complaints made relating to NHS bodies and prescribe the Healthcare Commission’s role in respect of NHS complaints.
Regulation 4 inserts two new regulations into the Principal Regulations which provide for the transfer to the appropriate local authority of complaints made to NHS bodies that relate either solely, or in part, to matters that are functions of local authorities.
Regulation 5 amends regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations to enable NHS bodies to designate as complaints managers persons who are not employees of the NHS body and who may also be complaints managers for other NHS bodies.
Regulation 6 amends regulation 7 of the Principal Regulations to exclude complaints that have already been investigated and complaints that relate to schemes established under section 10 or 24 of the Superannuation Act 1972.
Regulation 7 amends regulation 13 of the Principal Regulations to increase the time limit for an NHS body to respond to a complaint from 20 to 25 working days and provides for the complainant to be able to agree to a longer period.
Regulation 8 amends regulation 14 of the Principal Regulations to increase the time within which a complainant may request the consideration of a complaint by the Healthcare Commission. It also prevents the Healthcare Commission from considering a complaint where it relates to the NHS Bursary Scheme.
Regulation 9 amends regulation 15 of the Principal Regulations by broadening the remit of the Healthcare Commission in respect of complaints relating to NHS foundation trusts and increases the time within which a complainant may request the consideration of such a complaint by the Healthcare Commission. It replaces the Healthcare Commission’s obligation to send copies of all complaints to the Independent Regulator with a regular reporting requirement. It enables the Healthcare Commission to send copies of complaints to the Independent Regulator, provided it has the consent of the complainant, either of its own volition, or at the request of the Independent Regulator.
Regulation 10 amends regulation 16 of the Principal Regulations by only requiring the Healthcare Commission to consider any views given by Independent Regulator in determining how to handle a complaint, where it has sent a copy of the complaint to the Independent Regulator.
Regulation 11 amends regulation 18 of the Principal Regulations by reducing the prescription of the management of independent panels used by the Healthcare Commission to hear and consider complaints.
Regulation 12 amends regulation 19 of the Principal Regulations by only requiring the Healthcare Commission to send an investigation report of a complaint to the Independent Regulator where the Independent Regulator requests.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/2084/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/national-health-service-complaints-amendment-regulations-2006/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.