# The Nursing Homes Registration (Scotland) Regulations 1988, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations provide for the registration of persons in respect of nursing homes under the Registration of Nursing Homes (Scotland) Act 1938 (“the 1938 Act”). They supersede previous Regulations governing registration.
As well as providing for registration and annual continuation of that registration (regulation 2), the Regulations require the maintenance of registers of patients (including individual medical records) (regulations 5 and 8), of surgical operations (regulation 6), of staff and other people providing professional health-orientated services (regulation 7), and of records of fire safety procedures (regulation 9). The frequency of inspection of registered nursing homes by Health Boards is increased from once a year to not less than twice in every period of 12 months (regulation 14). The Regulations describe the scope and variety of the facilities and services to be provided in every registered nursing home in order to maintain registration standards (regulation 15).
The Regulations enable Health Boards to authorise suitably qualified individuals to undertake inspections of nursing homes (regulation 13). Authorised persons are empowered to enter nursing homes at all reasonable times for inspection purposes, and to obtain the production of any documents required to be maintained under the Regulations.
As before, a fee is payable to the Health Board with an application for initial registration by a person in respect of a nursing home, but the fee is increased from £100 to £600. The Regulations also provide for a new fee, related to the number of patient beds in a nursing home, to be payable with the annual application for continuation of registration, and for new fees to be payable with an application for variation of conditions of registration, and for any subsequent amended registration certificate issued. The fees chargeable are set out in Schedule 2 (regulation 4).
The Regulations, which come into force on 23rd November 1988, include transitional provisions to cater for people registered under previous Regulations in respect of nursing homes, and for applications for registration made before the said date (regulation 16). Previous Regulations providing for registration are revoked (regulation 17).
In terms of section 1(1) of the 1938 Act any person who carries on a nursing home without being duly registered is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (presently £2,000) and on conviction on indictment to a fine.
By section 1(1A) and 4(3) of the 1938 Act as read with section 8 of that Act any person who carries on a nursing home in contravention of a condition of his registration or who contravenes or fails to comply with any provision of the Regulations is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale (presently £1,000) and in the case of a continuing offence to a further fine not exceeding £2 in respect of each day on which the offence continues after conviction.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1988/1861/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/nursing-homes-registration-scotland-regulations-1988/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.