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

Certificates

21.—(1) A contract must contain a term which has the effect of requiring the contractor to issue free of charge to a patient or his personal representatives any medical certificate of a description prescribed in column 1 of Schedule 3, which is reasonably required under or for the purposes of the statutory provisions specified in relation to the certificate in column 2 of that Schedule, except where, for the condition to which the certificate relates, the patient –

(a)is being attended by a medical practitioner who is not –

(i)employed or engaged by the contractor;

(ii)in the case of a contract with two or more individuals practising in partnership, one of those individuals; or

(iii)in the case of a contract with a company limited by shares, one of the persons legally or beneficially owning shares in that company; or

(b)is not being treated by or under the supervision of a health care professional.

(2) The exception in paragraph (1)(a) shall not apply where the certificate is issued pursuant to regulation 2(1)(b) of the Social Security (Medical Evidence) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1976(1) (which provides for the issue of a certificate in the form of a special statement by a doctor on the basis of a written report made by another doctor).