Medical Practitioners (Vocational Training) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Exemptions

5.—(1) A practitioner shall be exempt from the need to have acquired the prescribed experience—

(a) if on the 15th February 1981 his name was included on the medical list;

(b) if on the 15th February 1981 an application pursuant to Article 56 of the principal Order had not been finally determined, but in consequence of its final determination his name was later included in the medical list(1);

(c) if his name was included in the medical list by virtue of his having made an application within 9 years after 15th February 1981 in a case where his name was not included in such a list on 15th February 1981, but had been so included before that day;

(d) in respect of an application for his name to be included in the medical list for the provision of general medical services limited to—

(i) child health and surveillance services only;

(ii) contraceptive services only;

(iii) maternity medical services only;

(iv) minor surgery services only; or

(v) any combination of the services mentioned in paragraphs (i) to (iv);

but only if the practitioner’s name was included in the medical list on 31st December 1994 for the provision of general medical services limited in a way which included those specified in the application;

(e) if he holds a certificate of prescribed experience or a certificate of equivalent experience issued under regulations made under section 32 of the National Health Service Act 1977(2) or under section 22 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978(3) or is, by virtue of those regulations, exempt from the need to have acquired the medical experience prescribed by those regulations;

(f) if he—

(i) is entitled to be registered under section 3 of the Medical Act 1983(4) as a fully registered medical practitioner by virtue of subsection (1)(b) or (2) of that section, and

(ii) was established in the United Kingdom on 31st December 1994 by virtue of the primary European qualification(5) giving rise to that entitlement; or

(g) if he holds a vocational training certificate or a certificate of acquired rights issued in an EEA State other than the United Kingdom which must in his case be recognised in the United Kingdom by virtue of the Medical Directive (whether or not as read with the EEA Agreement) or by virtue of any enforceable Community right.

(2) In this regulation—

“certificate of acquired rights” means a certificate issued under Article 36(4) of the Medical Directive, to the effect that its holder has an acquired right to practise as a general medical practitioner under the national social security scheme of the issuing State without a vocational training certificate(6);

“child health surveillance services”, “maternity medical services” and “minor surgery services” have the meaning assigned by regulation 2 of the General Medical Services Regulations;

“contraceptive services” has the meaning assigned by regulation 3(1)(c) of the General Medical Services Regulations;

“EEA agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993(7);

“EEA State” means a state which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement; and

“vocational training certificate” means a diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualifications awarded on completion of a course of specific training in general medical practice and referred to in Article 30 of the Medical Directive.

(1)

See S.R. 1979 No. 460, regulation 7

(2)

1977 c. 49

(3)

1978 c. 29

(4)

1983 c. 54. Section 63 was substituted by S.I. 1996/1591, regulation 3

(5)

See section 17 of the Medical Act 1983, substituted by S.I. 1996/1591 regulation 4

(6)

See for the issue of certificates of acquired rights by the Joint Committee, S.I. 1994/3130, regulation 5(3)

(7)

Cm. 2183 and O.J. No. L1, 3.1.1994, p. 572