Explanatory note

These Regulations, which replace the Nursing Homes Registration (Scotland) Regulations 1988, provide for the registration of persons in respect of nursing homes under the Nursing Homes Registration (Scotland) Act 1938 (“the 1938 Act”).

The main differences between the Regulations and those which they replace are the removal of specific requirements that a person registered must submit annually an application for continuation of registration and that continuation of registration is dependent on the Health Board’s being satisfied that the person registered is complying with the provisions of his Certificate of Registration and also the removal of provisions dealing with transfer of registration on the death of a person registered. A person registered will remain liable to pay on demand the prescribed fee for the annual continuation of registration.

There are also changes made which are consequential on the removal of the provisions referred to. These relate to the provisions in the 1988 Regulations which dealt with registration, fees, transfer of registers and records, frequency of inspection and the transitional provisions.

As well as prescribing the form of an application for registration (regulation 2 and Schedule 1), the Regulations require the maintenance of registers of patients (including individual medical records) (regulations 4 and 7), of surgical operations (regulation 5), of staff and other people providing professional health-orientated services (regulation 6), and of records of fire safety procedures (regulation 8). The frequency of inspection of registered nursing homes required to be carried out by Health Boards is not less than twice in every period of 12 months (regulation 12). 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 13).

The Regulations enable Health Boards to authorise suitably qualified individuals to under-take inspections of nursing homes (regulation 11). 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.

A fee of £600 is payable to the Health Board with an application for initial registration by a person in respect of a nursing home. The Regulations also provide for a fee, related to the number of patient beds in a nursing home, to be payable in respect of annual continuation of registration, and for fees to be payable in respect of 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 3).

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 (at present £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 (at present £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.