# The Patients' Forums (Functions) Regulations 2003, Regulation 3: Entry and inspection of premises


(1) Subject to the following paragraphs of this regulation, persons authorised in writing by a Patients' Forum may at any reasonable time enter and inspect premises owned or controlled by—
(a) in the case of a PCT Patients' Forum, those mentioned in paragraph (3);
(b) in the case of a Patients' Forum established for an NHS trust, that NHS trust,
and, except where, in the opinion of those persons or bodies, this would compromise the effective provision of health services or patients' safety, privacy or dignity, and without prejudice to paragraph (2), those persons and bodies shall comply with any request for entry.
(2) Each person authorised by a Patients' Forum under paragraph (1) shall be furnished with written evidence of his authority and, on making a request for entry to any premises referred to in paragraph (1) for the purposes specified in that paragraph, if so requested by the owner or occupier of those premises or a person acting on either of their behalf, shall produce that evidence.
(3) Those referred to in paragraph (1)(a) are—
(a) Primary Care Trusts;
(b) Local Health Boards;
(c) local authorities;
(d) NHS trusts;
(e) persons providing services under Part 2 of the 1977 Act or under arrangements under section 28C of that Act;
(f) persons providing piloted services under pilot schemes established under section 28 of the 2001 Act, or providing services under an LPS scheme established under Schedule 8A to the 1977 Act; or
(g) persons who own or control premises where services as mentioned in (e) or (f) are provided.
(4) A person authorised by a Patients' Forum under paragraph (1) may not enter any premises or part of premises used as residential accommodation—
(a) by persons employed by any of the bodies referred to in paragraphs (3)(a) to (d);or
(b) by persons referred to in paragraphs (3) (e) to (g),
without first having obtained the consent of those persons.
(5) In exercising rights of entry and inspection under this regulation, a Patients' Forum shall have regard to the need to safeguard patients' safety, privacy and dignity, the need not to compromise the effective provision of health services, and to any advice given to it by the Commission.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2124/regulation/3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/patients-forums-functions-regulations-2003/regulation-3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.