The National Health Service (Vocational Training for General Medical Practice) Amendment Regulations 1998

Statutory Instruments

1998 No. 669

MEDICAL PROFESSION

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, ENGLAND AND WALES

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, SCOTLAND

The National Health Service (Vocational Training for General Medical Practice) Amendment Regulations 1998

Made

11th March 1998

Laid before Parliament

11th March 1998

Coming into force

1st April 1998

The Secretary of State, being designated(1) for the purposes of, and in exercise of powers conferred by, section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972(2) and, as respects England and Wales, in exercise of powers conferred on him by sections 31 and 32 of the National Health Service Act 1977(3), and the Secretary of State concerned with health in Scotland, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 21 and 22 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978(4), and in each case in exercise of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations:—

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Vocational Training for General Medical Practice) Amendment Regulations 1998 and shall come into force on 1st April 1998.

Amendment of the National Health Service (Vocational Training for General Medical Practice) Regulations 1997

2.—(1) The National Health Service (Vocational Training for General Medical Practice) Regulations 1997(5) shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs of this regulation.

(2) In regulation 2(1) (interpretation), in the definition of “General Practice (GP) Registrar”—

(a) in sub-paragraph (b), at the end, omit the word “and”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (c), after the words “General Practice Approval Board;”, insert the word “and”; and

(c) after sub-paragraph (c), insert the following sub-paragraph—

“(d) includes a practitioner who is being trained in general practice by a practitioner who performs personal medical services in connection with a pilot scheme under section 1(1) of the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997;”.

(3) In regulation 7 (approval of trainers)—

(a) in paragraph (1), omit sub-paragraph (a); and

(b) in paragraph (4), omit the words “whose name is included in a medical list”.

(4) In regulation 9 (satisfactory completion of prescribed experience), for paragraphs (3) and (4), substitute the following paragraphs—

“(3) Subject to paragraph (1) and Schedule 2, the Joint Committee shall from time to time determine and publish the curriculum (or alternative curricula) to be followed by a General Practice (GP) Registrar and the procedure (or alternative procedures) for carrying out summative assessment of a General Practice (GP) Registrar who has followed a particular curriculum.

(4) A practitioner may elect to be assessed on the basis of a curriculum and associated procedure which was current at the time he started training as a General Practice (GP) Registrar, or on the basis of a curriculum and associated procedure which was current at any other time during the period of his training.”.

Amendment of the National Health Service (Vocational Training for General Medical Practice) (Scotland) Regulations 1998

3.—(1) The National Health Service (Vocational Training for General Medical Practice) (Scotland) Regulations 1998(6) shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs of this regulation.

(2) In regulation 2(1) (interpretation), in the definition of “General Practice (GP) Registrar”, at the end, insert “and a practitioner who is being trained in general practice by a practitioner who performs personal medical services in connection with a pilot scheme under section 1(1) of the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997”.

(3) In regulation 7 (approval of trainers), in paragraph (1), omit sub-paragraph (a).

(4) In regulation 9 (satisfactory completion of prescribed experience), for paragraphs (3) and (4), substitute the following paragraphs—

“(3) Subject to paragraph (1) and Schedule 2, the Joint Committee shall from time to time determine and publish the curriculum (or alternative curricula) to be followed by a General Practice (GP) Registrar and the procedure (or alternative procedures) for carrying out summative assessment of a General Practice (GP) Registrar who has followed a particular curriculum.

(4) A practitioner may elect to be assessed on the basis of a curriculum and associated procedure which was current at the time he started training as a General Practice (GP) Registrar, or on the basis of a curriculum and associated procedure which was current at any other time during the period of his training.”.

Amendment of the Vocational Training for General Medical Practice (European Requirements) Regulations 1994

4.  In the Vocational Training for General Medical Practice (European Requirements) Regulations 1994(7), in regulation 5(1) (acquired rights), after the words “providing general medical services”, insert “or performing personal medical services (within the meaning of section 1(8) of the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997)”.

Frank Dobson

One of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State,

Department of Health

11th March 1998

Sam Galbraith

Minister for Health, The Scottish Office

11th March 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (Vocational Training for General Medical Practice) Regulations 1997 (“the 1997 Regulations”) and the National Health Service (Vocational Training for General Medical Practice) (Scotland) Regulations 1998 (“the 1998 Regulations”) to allow vocational training for general medical practice to be undertaken with a doctor who is involved in a pilot scheme for the provision of personal medical services, under the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997 (“the 1997 Act”).

They also amend the Vocational Training for General Medical Practice (European Requirements) Regulations 1994 (“the 1994 Regulations”) in consequence of the coming into force of the 1997 Act. Regulation 4 amends regulation 5(1) of the 1994 Regulations, which implemented EC obligations as to acquired rights arising out of Title IV of Council Directive 93/16/EEC of 5 April 1993 to facilitate the free movement of doctors and the mutual recognition of their diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications. The effect of the amendment is that persons with an acquired right to practise as a general medical practitioner may perform personal medical services under the 1997 Act.

The amendment to regulation 9 of the 1997 and 1998 Regulations enables the Joint Committee to determine alternative curricula and related procedures for summative assessment of General Practice (GP) Registrars.

These Regulations impose no costs on business.

(1)

See S.I. 1994/2791, article 2 and the Schedule, which designate the Secretary of State for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 in relation to measures relating to training in medical practice, the issue and/or recognition of diplomas or certificates or other evidence of qualifications in relation to medical practice, the titles used by those in medical practice and the exercise of medical practice.

(2)

1972 c. 68.

(3)

1977 c. 49. See section 128(1) as amended by the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19), section 26(2)(g) and (i), for the definitions of “prescribed” and “regulations”. Section 31 was amended by S.I. 1985/39, article 7(5) and the Health Authorities Act 1995 (c. 17) (“the 1995 Act”), Schedule 1, paragraph 20. Section 32 was amended by S.I. 1985/39, article 7(6) and the 1995 Act, Schedule 1, paragraph 21. Sections 31(2) and 32 are extended by the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997 (c. 46), section 11(3) and (4) (in force on 1st April 1998: see S.I. 1998/631).

(4)

1978 c. 29.

(5)

S.I. 1997/2817.

(6)

S.I. 1998/5.

(7)

S.I. 1994/3130, revoked, in part, by S.I. 1997/2817.