The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2004

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (“the principal Regulations”), which set out the framework for general medical services contracts under section 17J of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978.

These Regulations–

(a) correct incorrect references to the provisions pursuant to which a contractor may request to be, or be, regarded as a health service body (regulation 2(2)(a) and (3));

(b) correct the definition of “patient” in the principal Regulations to ensure that persons for whom the contractor is responsible under certain arrangements for the provision of out of hours services are included (regulation 2(2)(b));

(c) clarify that the primary medical services which must be provided under regulation 15(8) of the principal Regulations are for the immediately necessary treatment of certain persons for certain periods (regulation 2(4));

(d) correct references to certain provisions in the principal Regulations relating to opt outs of additional and out of hours services that need not be included in general medical services contracts, but which have effect in relation to the matters they deal with (regulation 2(5));

(e) correct an incorrect reference in the principal Regulations to a “permanent opt out notice” to be a reference to a “preliminary opt out notice” (regulation 2(6)(b));

(f) correct references to the provisions under which circumstances giving rise to a Health Board’s right to terminate a general medical services contract must be notified to the Health Board by a contractor (regulation 2(7)(b));

(g) clarify that where certain services are not provided by a contractor, the information as to which Health Board that is responsible for providing those services shall be included in a practice leaflet (regulation 2(8)); and

(h) correct other minor drafting errors (regulation 2(6)(a), 2(7)(a), (c), (d) and (e)).