These Regulations further amend the Health and Personal Social Services (Fund-holding Practices) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 (“the principal Regulations”), which regulate the recognition and operation of fund-holding practices.

The Regulations incorporate amendments in connection with the coming into operation on 1st April 1999 of certain provisions of the Health Services (Primary Care) (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (“the 1997 Order”). In particular, regulation 4 amends regulation 16 of the principal Regulations (payment for drugs, medicines and listed appliances) so that it does not apply to standard fund-holding practices or community fund-holding practices who are party to a pilot scheme under the 1997 Order which provides for the Health and Social Services Board to recoup the costs of drugs, medicines and listed appliances prescribed by members of the practice, or which provides for services other than personal medical services. Regulation 5 amends regulation 19 of the principal Regulations (payments to staff) so that it does not apply to standard or community fund-holding practices who are party to a pilot scheme which provides for payments to staff. Regulations 6 and 7 amend Schedules 1 and 2 to the principal Regulations (conditions for obtaining and continuing recognition) to include requirements that members of fund holding practices providing or performing personal medical services under a pilot scheme under the 1997 Order must not be employed by another person, must each maintain a list of patients and, in the case of a standard or community fund-holding practice, must not provide under the pilot scheme any of the goods or services that may be purchased from the list approved by the Department (in accordance with regulation 17 of the principal Regulations).