The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2015

[F1 Inclusion in list of patients: detained persons E+W

19A.— (1) A contractor must, if the contractor’s list of patients is open, include a person to whom sub-paragraph (2) applies (a “detained person”) in that list and paragraph 29(1)(c) does not apply in respect of a detained person who is included in the contractor’s list of patients by virtue of this paragraph.

(2) This sub-paragraph applies to a person who—

(a) is serving a term of imprisonment of more than two years, or more than one term of imprisonment totalling, in the aggregate, more than two years;

(b) is not registered as a patient with a provider of primary medical services; and

(c) makes an application under this paragraph in accordance with sub-paragraph (3) to be included in the contractor’s list of patients by virtue of sub-paragraph (1) or (6) before the scheduled release date.

(3) An application under sub-paragraph (2)(c) may be made during the period commencing one month prior to the scheduled release date and ending 24 hours prior to that date.

(4) Subject to sub-paragraphs (5) and (6), a contractor may only refuse an application under sub-paragraph (2)(c) if the contractor has reasonable grounds for doing so which do not relate to the applicant’s age, appearance, disability or medical condition, gender or gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or social class.

(5) The reasonable grounds referred to in sub-paragraph (4) may include the ground that the applicant will not, on or after the scheduled release date, live in the contractor’s practice area or does not intend to live in that area.

(6) Where a contractor’s list of patients is closed, the contractor may, by virtue of this sub-paragraph, accept an application under sub-paragraph (2)(c) if the applicant is an immediate family member of a registered patient.

(7) Where a contractor accepts an application from a person under sub-paragraph (2)(c) for inclusion in the contractor’s list of patients, the contractor—

(a) must give notice in writing to the provider of the detained estate healthcare service or to [F2 NHS England] of that acceptance as soon as possible; and

(b) is not required to provide primary medical services to that person until after the scheduled release date.

(8) [F2 NHS England] must, on receipt of a notice given under sub-paragraph (7)(a)—

(a) include the applicant in the contractor’s list of patients from the date notified to [F2 NHS England] by the provider of the detained estate healthcare service; and

(b) give notice in writing to the provider of the detained estate healthcare service of that acceptance.

(9) Where a contractor refuses an application made under sub-paragraph (2)(c), the contractor must give notice in writing of that refusal, and the reasons for it, to the provider of the detained estate healthcare service or to [F2 NHS England] before the end of the period of 14 days beginning with the date of its decision to refuse.

(10) The contractor must—

(a) keep a written record of—

(i) the refusal of any application under sub-paragraph (2)(c), and

(ii) the reasons for that refusal; and

(b) make such records available to [F2 NHS England] on request.

(11) In this paragraph—

(a) “the detained estate healthcare service” means the healthcare service commissioned by [F2 NHS England] in respect of persons who are detained in prison or in other secure accommodation by virtue of regulations made under section 3B(1)(c) of the Act (Secretary of State’s power to require Board to commission services); and

(b) “the scheduled release date” means the date on which the person making an application under sub-paragraph (2)(c) is due to be released from detention in prison.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 3 para. 19A inserted (6.10.2017) by The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts and Personal Medical Services Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/908), regs. 1(2), 4

F2 Words in Regulations substituted (6.11.2023) by The Health and Care Act 2022 (Further Consequential Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1071), reg. 1(1), Sch. para. 1