The General Medical Services Transitional and Consequential Provisions (No. 2) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004

Application and interpretation of this Part

2.—(1) In this Part –

(a) Articles 3 to 29 apply to a default contract or a general medical services contract entered into on or before 31st March 2004 with –

(i) an individual medical practitioner who has entered into the general medical services contract pursuant to an entitlement under Article 3 of the No. 1 Order or the default contract pursuant to Article 13 of that Order,

(ii) two or more individuals practising in partnership who have entered into the general medical services contract pursuant to an entitlement under Article 5 of that Order or the default contract pursuant to Article 13 of that Order, or

(iii) a company in which one or more of the legal and beneficial shareholders is, or are, on the date on which the general medical services contract is signed, providing general medical services under Article 56 of the 1972 Order;

(b) Articles 30 and 31 apply to the contracts specified in sub-paragraph (a) and to a general medical services contract which takes effect immediately after a default contract with the same parties ceases to have effect; and

(c) Article 32 applies to all general medical services contracts and default contracts entered into before 1st April 2005.

(2) Unless it is entered into with a person to whom the particular Article does not apply, a general medical services contract or a default contract which falls within paragraph (1) shall include, or be deemed to include, terms which have the effect specified in Articles 3 to 32.

(3) In this Part –

“relevant medical practitioner” means a medical practitioner who –

(a)

on 31st March 2004, or on the date on which a default contract or a general medical services contract is entered into, if earlier, is providing general medical services under Article 56 of the 1972 Order; and

(b)

on or before 31st March 2004 –

(i)

has entered into a default contract or a general medical services contract as an individual medical practitioner or as one of two or more individuals practising in partnership; or

(ii)

is a legal and beneficial shareholder in a company which has entered into a general medical services contract;

“succeeding contractor” means the default contractor who is a party to the default contract or the general medical services contractor which is a party to the general medical services contract which –

(a)

a relevant medical practitioner has entered into either as an individual medical practitioner or as one of two or more individuals practising in partnership; or

(b)

has been entered into by a company in which a relevant medical practitioner is a legal and beneficial shareholder.