The Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

27.—(1) The functions of a Local Medical Committee which are prescribed for the purposes of Article 55B(7) (Local Medical Committees) of the Order(1) are –

(a) the consideration of any complaint made to it by any medical practitioner against a medical practitioner specified in paragraph (2) providing services under a contract in the relevant area involving any question of the efficiency of those services;

(b) the reporting of the outcome of the consideration of such complaint to the Board with whom the contract is held in cases where that consideration gives rise to any concerns relating to the efficiency of services provided under a contract;

(c) the making of arrangements for the medical examination of a medical practitioner specified in paragraph (2), where the contractor or the Board is concerned that the medical practitioner is incapable of adequately providing services under the contract and it so requests with the agreement of the medical practitioner concerned; and

(d) the consideration of the report of any medical examination arranged in accordance with sub-paragraph (c) and the making of a written report as to the capability of the medical practitioner of adequately providing services under the contract to the medical practitioner concerned, the contractor and the Board with whom the contractor holds a contract.

(2) The medical practitioner referred to in paragraph (1)(a) and (c) is a medical practitioner who is –

(a) a contractor;

(b) one of two or more individuals practising in partnership who hold a contract; or

(c) a legal and beneficial shareholder in a company which holds a contract.

(3) In this regulation, “the relevant area” means the area for which the Local Medical Committee is formed.

(1)

Article 55B was inserted into the Order by paragraph 9 of Schedule 1 to the 2004 Order Back [1]