General Medical Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997

Change of doctor

21.—(1) A person who is on a doctor’s list of patients may apply to any other doctor providing general medical services for acceptance on that other doctor’s list of patients.

(2) An application for the purposes of paragraph (1) shall be made in accordance with regulation 19.

(3) A person who has made an application under paragraph (1) and has been refused acceptance by any doctor, may apply to the Agency for assignment to a doctor whose name is included in the medical list.

(4) The Agency shall inform a doctor as soon as practicable of the removal of a patient from his list on transfer to the list of another doctor.

(5) Subject to paragraphs (6) and (7), the Agency shall, on the death of a doctor, or on the removal or withdrawal from the medical list of the name of any doctor, notify the persons on the list of that doctor of such death, removal or withdrawal.

(6) Where a successor is appointed to a practice declared vacant, the Agency shall, by notice in writing, inform the persons on the list of the doctor who last carried on that practice of the name of the successor (and, if more than one, of each of them) and of the names of any partners and of the address of their practice premises.

(7) The notice mentioned in paragraph (6) shall state that the person to whom it is given will be deemed, from the date specified in the notice, to be on the list of a named successor, unless that person within 14 days of that date gives notice in writing to the Agency that he does not wish to be included in that list.

(8) Where no successor is to be appointed to a practice, the Agency shall notify each person on the list of the doctor who last carried on that practice, that his name has been removed from that list and either—

(a) that his name has been transferred to the list of another doctor named in the notice who may, or may not, have been a partner of the doctor whose name has been removed from the medical list; or alternatively

(b) that he has the right to apply to another doctor for acceptance for inclusion in his list,

and where sub-paragraph (a) applies, the Agency shall request the person to inform it whether he is agreeable to the transfer.

(9) A doctor who has returned to his practice at the end of a period of relevant service (in this regulation called “the first doctor”) shall, within one month of his return, inform the Board in writing that he has resumed practice and the Board shall notify the Agency of such resumption.

(10) Where the Agency has been notified in accordance with paragraph (9) it shall, within 28 days, send a notice to every person who—

(a) was on the first doctor’s list at the beginning of a period of relevant service; and

(b) is still residing at the address at which he was then residing and who has been transferred, by reason only of the doctor’s departure on relevant service, to the list of another doctor,

stating that the first doctor has resumed practice and that the person will be restored to his list unless, not later than 14 days after the date of the notice, that person gives notice in writing to the Agency that he wishes to remain on the list of the other doctor.

(11) After the expiry of the period of 14 days mentioned in paragraph (10), the Agency shall inform each of the other doctors concerned of the persons who are transferred from his list to the list of the first doctor and shall also inform each of those other doctors of the persons who have elected to remain on his list.

(12) Nothing in this regulation shall require the Agency to give any notice concerning the making or termination of arrangements under regulation 24.