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

Contract sanctions

109.—(1) In this paragraph and paragraph 110, “contract sanction” means –

(a) termination of specified reciprocal obligations under the contract;

(b) suspension of specified reciprocal obligations under the contract for a period of up to six months; or

(c) withholding or deducting monies otherwise payable under the contract.

(2) Where the Board is entitled to terminate the contract pursuant to paragraph 104, 105, 106 or 107(4) or (6) or paragraph 108, it may instead impose any of the contract sanctions if the Board is reasonably satisfied that the contract sanction to be imposed is appropriate and proportionate to the circumstances giving rise to the Board’s entitlement to terminate the contract.

(3) The Board shall not, under sub-paragraph (2), be entitled to impose any contract sanction that has the effect of terminating or suspending any obligation to provide, or any obligation that relates to, essential services.

(4) If the Board decides to impose a contract sanction, it must notify the contractor of the contract sanction that it proposes to impose, the date upon which that sanction will be imposed and provide in that notice an explanation of the effect of the imposition of that sanction.

(5) Subject to paragraph 110, the Board shall not impose the contract sanction until at least 28 days after it has served notice on the contractor pursuant to sub-paragraph (4) unless the Board is satisfied that it is necessary to do so in order to –

(a) protect the safety of the contractor’s patients; or

(b) protect itself from material financial loss.

(6) Where the Board imposes a contract sanction, the Board shall be entitled to charge the contractor the reasonable costs of additional administration that the Board has incurred in order to impose, or as a result of imposing, the contract sanction.