The General Medical Services Transitional and Consequential Provisions (No. 1) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004

Out of hours services in general medical services contracts to patients of exempt contractors who have entered into a default contract

20.—(1) Where a general medical services contract is with –

(a) an individual medical practitioner who is, or was on 31st March 2004, responsible for providing services during all or part of the out of hours period to the patients of a medical practitioner who meets the requirements in paragraph (2);

(b) two or more individuals practising in partnership at least one of whom is, or was on 31st March 2004, a medical practitioner responsible for providing such services to such patients; or

(c) a company in which one or more of the shareholders is, or was on 31st March 2004, a medical practitioner responsible for providing such services to such patients,

the general medical services contract with that contractor must require him to continue to provide such services to the patients of the exempt contractor until the happening of one of the events in paragraph (3).

(2) The requirements referred to in paragraph (1)(a) are that –

(a) the medical practitioner had made an arrangement to transfer his obligations under the terms of service to another medical practitioner under paragraph 20(2) of Schedule 2 to the 1997 Regulations; and

(b) he –

(i) has entered or intends to enter into a default contract which does not include out of hours services pursuant to Article 19(1)(a), or

(ii) is one of two or more individuals practising in partnership who have entered or intend to enter into a default contract which does not include out of hours services pursuant to Article 19(1)(b).

(3) The events referred to in paragraph (1) are –

(a) the exempt contractor’s default contract has come to an end and not been succeeded by a general medical services contract which does not include out of hours services pursuant to regulation 30(1)(b) of the 2004 Regulations;

(b) the general medical services contractor has opted out of the provision of out of hours services in accordance with paragraph 4 or 5 of Schedule 2 to the 2004 Regulations; or

(c) the Board (and, if it is different, the Board with whom the exempt contractor holds his contract) has or have agreed in writing that the general medical services contractor need no longer provide some or all of those services to some or all of those patients.

(4) In this Article “exempt contractor” means a contractor who is exempt from providing out of hours services pursuant to Article 19(1)(a) or (b).