PARLIAMENTARY PROCESS
Introduction
The Patient Rights (Scotland) Bill and its Accompanying Documents were introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 17 March 2010. This means that the Bill is now the property of the Parliament and can only be amended with Parliamentary approval.
Stage 1
The Parliament assigned the Patient Rights (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament's Health and Sport Committee, which considered the general principles of the Bill and gathered information from interested parties and from the Scottish Government. A number of people submitted written evidence at this stage and some were invited to attend Committee meetings to give oral evidence.
The Finance Committee and the Subordinate Legislation Committee also reported on the Bill at stage 1.
The Bill was considered by the full Parliament on 17 November 2010 and was given Parliamentary approval.
Stage 2
The Health and Sport Committee looked at the detail of each section of the Bill and made a number of amendments.
At the end of stage 2 the amended Bill was reprinted. Accompanying Documents have been amended to reflect the changes made to the Bill.
Stage 3
At stage 3, the Patient Rights (Scotland) Bill was considered by the full Parliament and further amendments were made. The Parliament then voted to pass the Bill.
Royal Assent
Following a four week gap, in which the Bill could have been legally challenged on the grounds of legislative competence, the Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer submitted the Bill for Royal Assent. The Bill then became an Act of the Scottish Parliament.
Diagram showing stages of the Bill