The National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Amendment Regulations 1993

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Regulations 1992 so as to provide that, where a complaint is made about a doctor, dentist, optician or chemist providing services under Part II of the National Health Service Act 1977 that he is in breach of his terms of service, there is a right of appeal from the decision of the Family Health Services Authority dealing with the complaint, in the following cases:

(a) where the committee of the Family Health Services Authority dealing with the complaint has not held an oral hearing of the complaint,

(b) where it has been decided initially that the complaint as received does not show any grounds for thinking that there has been a possible breach of terms of service by a practitioner, and

(c) where the complaint is about the conduct of a doctor deputising for a patient’s own doctor, and it has been decided initially that the complaint as received shows no grounds for believing that the doctor with whom the patient is registered was himself in breach of his terms of service.

The Regulations also specify in cases (b) and (c) what must be included in the service committee’s report, what matters the FHSA must determine, what matters the Secretary of State must determine on appeal and what action must then be taken.