The Health and Personal Social Services (Primary Medical Services Performers Lists) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These regulations make amendments to the Health and Personal Social services (Primary Medical Services Performers Lists) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 (“principal Regulations”), which provide for lists (“primary medical services performers lists”) of medical practitioners who may perform primary medical services for which Boards are under a duty to provide or secure the provision of.

Regulations 3, 4 and 5 amend regulations 3, 4 and 5 of the principal Regulations to allow a medical practitioner who is admitted to a Board’s list to perform primary medical services in other Board areas.

Regulation 6 makes amendments which are consequential on amendments made by Schedule 1 of the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 which relate to disqualifications from inclusion in a list by the Tribunal.

Regulation 7 inserts a new regulation 7A into the principal Regulations regarding the effect to be given in Northern Ireland to decisions in England, Wales and Scotland corresponding to decisions to be made by the Tribunal in Northern Ireland.

Regulation 8 inserts new paragraph (3) into regulation 8 to make provision for a Board to request a performer, who is already on a list, to provide it with an enhanced criminal record certificate issued under section 113B of the Police Act 1997.

Regulation 9 inserts new regulation 8A into the principal Regulations to make provision for a Board to conditionally include a performer in the list subject to the imposition of conditions by the Board having regard to the requirements of Article 57G(3B) of the Order (preventing fraud or prejudice to the efficiency of the service.

Regulation 10 amends regulation 9 of the principal Regulations to take account of a Boards duty to remove a performer from the list if the performer has failed to comply with conditions imposed by the Board under conditional inclusion or contingent removal.

Regulation 11inserts new regulation 10A into the principal Regulations to make provision for a Board to contingently remove a performer from the list subject to such conditions as the Board may decide having regard to Article 57G(3B) of the Order.

Regulation 12 amends regulation 12 of the principal Regulations by providing that a performer must withdraw from one Board’s list if he is accepted on another Board list. The insertion of a new paragraph 6 provides that if a Board suspends a performer, that performer cannot withdraw from the list, except with the consent of the Department.

Regulation 13 inserts new regulation 12A into the principal Regulations to provide for a Board to suspend a performer from its list, if certain conditions are met, and for the procedures to be then followed. It also makes provision for payments to be made to suspended performers.

Regulation 14 inserts new regulation 12B into the principal Regulations to provide for review and the procedures to be followed by a Board where it decides to conditionally include, contingently remove or suspend a performer from its list.

Regulation 15 makes provision for appeals to the Department against a determination of a Board to impose particular conditions on a performer or of a Board decision to remove a performer from the list for failure to comply with conditions it has imposed.

Regulation 16 extends the list of specified persons a Board shall notify of specified information to include the National Patient Safety Agency. It also extends the specified information to include where a Board decides to, remove a performer from the list for not complying with conditions, impose conditions on a performer’s inclusion or continued inclusion on the list or suspends a performer from the list.

Regulation 17 amends paragraph 2(b) of Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations to cover doctors in training working towards the acquisition of a Certificate of Completion of Training. It also amends paragraph 3(a) to extend the undertakings in an application for inclusion in a list to include, co-operation with the National Patient Safety Agency when requested to do so by the Board, to provide the Board with an enhanced criminal record certificate and to notify the Board if the applicant is included or applies to be included in any other list.