The Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Health services body status

10.—(1) Where a proposed contractor elects in a written notice served on the Board at any time prior to the contract being entered into to be regarded as a health services body for the purposes of Article 8 of the 1991 Order, he shall be so regarded from the date on which the contract is entered into.

(2) If, pursuant to paragraph (1) or (5) a contractor is to be regarded as a health services body, it shall not affect the nature of, or any rights or liabilities arising under, any other contract with a health services body entered into by a contractor before the date on which the contractor is to be so regarded.

(3) Where a contract is made with an individual medical practitioner or two or more persons practising in partnership, and that individual, or that partnership is to be regarded as a health services body in accordance with paragraph (1) or (5), the contractor shall, subject to paragraph (4), continue to be regarded as a health services body for the purposes of Article 8 of the 1991 Order for as long as that contract continues irrespective of any change in –

(a) the partners comprising the partnership;

(b) the status of the contractor from that of an individual medical practitioner to that of a partnership; or

(c) the status of the contractor from that of a partnership to that of an individual medical practitioner.

(4) A contractor may at any time request in writing a variation of the contract to include provision in or remove provision from the contract that the contract is an HSS contract, and if he does so –

(a) the Board shall agree to the variation; and

(b) the procedure in paragraph 96(1) of Schedule 5 shall apply.

(5) If, pursuant to paragraph (4), the Board agrees to the variation to the contract, the contractor shall –

(a) be regarded; or

(b) subject to paragraph (7), cease to be regarded

as a health services body for the purposes of Article 8 of the 1991 Order from the date that variation is to take effect pursuant to paragraph 96(1) of Schedule 5.

(6) Subject to paragraph (7), a contractor shall cease to be a health services body for the purposes of Article 8 of the 1991 Order if the contract terminates.

(7) Where a contractor ceases to be a health services body pursuant to –

(a) paragraph (5) or (6), he shall continue to be regarded as a health services body for the purposes of being a party to any other HSS contract entered into after he became a health services body but before the date on which the contractor ceased to be a health services body (for which purpose he ceases to be such a body on the termination of that HSS contract);

(b) paragraph (5), he shall, if he or the Board has referred any matter to the dispute resolution procedure before he ceases to be a health services body, be bound by the determination of the adjudicator as if the dispute had been referred pursuant to paragraph 92 of Schedule 5;

(c) paragraph (6), he shall continue to be regarded as a health services body for the purposes of the dispute resolution procedure where that procedure has been commenced –

(i) before the termination of the contract, or

(ii) after the termination of the contract, whether in connection with or arising out of the termination of the contract or otherwise,

for which purposes he ceases to be such a body on the conclusion of that procedure.