Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.-(1) This Order may be cited as the South Durham Health Care National Health Service Trust (Establishment) Order 1998 and shall come into force on 1st April 1998.

(2) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires-

"the Act" means the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990;

"community health services" means any services which the Secretary of State may provide under section 3(1)(d) or (e) of or Schedule 1 to the National Health Service Act 1977 and any service which he has a duty to provide under section 5(1) or (1A) of that Act(4);

"the trust" means the South Durham Health Care National Health Service Trust established by article 2 of this Order.

Establishment of the trust

2. There is hereby established an NHS trust which shall be called the South Durham Health Care National Health Service Trust.

Nature and functions of the trust

3. The trust's functions (which include functions which the Secretary of State considers appropriate in relation to the provision of services by the trust for one or more health authorities) shall be to provide and manage pursuant to section 5(1)(b) of the Act:

(a)Darlington Memorial Hospital, Hollyhurst Road, Darlington, Co. Durham DL3 6HX,

(b)Bishop Auckland General Hospital, Cockton Hill Road, Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham DL14 6AD,

and other hospitals, establishments or facilities in the area of County Durham Health Authority and there to provide hospital accommodation and services and community health services.

Directors of the trust

4. The trust shall have, in addition to the chairman, 5 non-executive directors and 5 executive directors.

Operational date and accounting date of the trust

5.-(1) The operational date(5) of the trust shall be 1st April 1998.

(2) The accounting date of the trust shall be 31st March.

Restriction on disposal of assets

6. The sum specified for the purposes of paragraph 6(2)(d) of Schedule 2 to the Act (maximum value of freely disposable assets) in relation to the trust shall be £1,000,000.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order establishes the South Durham Health Care National Health Service Trust, an NHS trust provided for in section 5 of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990. It also provides for the functions of the trust (article 3). It specifies the number of directors of the trust (article 4), the operational date (the date on which the trust assumes all its functions) and the accounting date of the trust (article 5), and it specifies the value of assets in excess of which the Secretary of State is to consider the disposal of the assets (article 6).

This Order should be read in conjunction with the Durham County Priority Services National Health Service Trust (Establishment) Order 1998(6), the North Durham Health Care National Health Service Trust (Establishment) Order 1998(7), the Bishop Auckland Hospitals National Health Service Trust (Dissolution) Order 1998(8), the Community Health Care: North Durham National Health Service Trust (Dissolution) Order 1998(9), the Darlington Memorial Hospital National Health Service Trust (Dissolution) Order 1998(10), the North Durham Acute Hospitals National Health Service Trust (Dissolution) Order 1998(11), and the South Durham National Health Service Trust (Dissolution) Order 1998(12).