Citation, commencement and application

1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Care Homes (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 1st September 2003.

(2) These Regulations apply to England only.

Amendment of the Care Homes Regulations 2001

2. —(1)The Care Homes Regulations 2001( 2 ) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation.

(2) In regulation 5 (service user’s guide), after paragraph (2) there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

“ (2A) If a person other than a service user or the Commission requests a copy of the service user’s guide, the registered person shall either—

(a) make the service user’s guide available for inspection by that person at the care home; or

(b) supply a copy to that person. ” .

(3) After regulation 5, there shall be inserted the following regulation—

“ Information about fees

5A —(1) This regulation shall apply where nursing is provided by the care home.

(2) The registered person shall provide to each service user, by not later than the day on which he becomes a service user, a statement specifying—

(a) the fees payable by or in respect of the service user for the provision to the service user of any of the following services—

(i) accommodation, including the provision of food;

(ii) nursing; and

(iii) personal care,

and, except where a single fee is payable for those services, the services to which each fee relates;

(b) the method of payment of the fees and the person or persons by whom the fees are payable.

(3) The registered person shall notify the service user at least one month in advance of—

(a) any increase in the fees referred to in paragraph (2)(a) and payable by or in respect of the service user;

(b) any variation in the matters referred to in paragraph (2)(b).

(4) The registered person shall inform the service user—

(a) if it is practicable to do so, by not later than 28 days after the day on which he becomes a service user; or

(b) in any other case, as soon as it becomes practicable to do so,

as to whether a nursing contribution is to be paid in respect of nursing to be provided at the care home to the service user.

(5) Where a nursing contribution is paid in respect of nursing provided at the care home to the service user, the registered person shall provide to the service user a statement specifying—

(a) the date of payment and the amount of the nursing contribution; and

(b) either—

(i) the date (if any) on which the registered person is to pay the amount of the nursing contribution to the service user or deduct that amount from the fees referred to in paragraph (2)(a); or

(ii) if the nursing contribution is not to be so paid or deducted, whether and if so how it is taken into account for the purpose of calculating those fees.

(6) In this regulation, “nursing contribution” means a payment by a Primary Care Trust ( 3 ) to the registered person in respect of nursing to be provided to a service user at the care home, but does not include a payment where—

(a) the Primary Care Trust has made arrangements with the care home for the provision of accommodation to the service user; and

(b) the payment relates to any period for which under those arrangements accommodation is provided at the care home to the service user. ” .

(4) In regulations 36 and 43 (offences), after “5,” there shall be inserted “5A,”.