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

Fees and charges

24.—(1) The contract must contain terms relating to fees and charges which have the same effect as those set out in paragraphs (2) to (4).

(2) The contractor shall not, either himself or through any other person, demand or accept from any patient of his a fee or other remuneration, for his own or another’s benefit, for –

(a) provision of any treatment whether under the contract or otherwise; or

(b) any prescription for any drug, medicine or appliance,

except in the circumstances set out in Schedule 4.

(3) Where a person applies to a contractor for the provision of essential services and claims to be on that contractor’s list of patients, but fails to produce his medical card on request and the contractor has reasonable doubts about that person’s claim, the contractor shall give any necessary treatment and shall be entitled to demand and accept a reasonable fee in accordance with paragraph (e) of Schedule 4, subject to the provision for repayment contained in paragraph (4).

(4) Where a person from whom a contractor received a fee under paragraph (e) of Schedule 4 applies to the Board for a refund within 14 days of payment of the fee (or such longer period not exceeding a month as the Board may allow if it is satisfied that the failure to apply within 14 days was reasonable) and the Board is satisfied that the person was on the contractor’s list of patients when the treatment was given, the Board may recover the amount of the fee from the contractor, by deduction from his remuneration or otherwise, and shall pay that amount to the person who paid the fee.