2006 No. 248
NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE
The National Health Service (Primary Medical Services Section 17C Agreements) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2006
Made 9th May 2006
Laid before the Scottish Parliament 9th May 2006
Coming into force 31st May 2006

The Scottish Ministers in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 17E, 28(1), 105(7) and 108(1) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations:
1978 c. 29; section 17E was inserted by the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997 (c. 46), section 22(2) and amended by the Health Act 1999 (c. 8)., Schedule 4, paragraph 47 and the Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 1), section 2(4); section 28 was amended by National Health Service (Amendment) Act 1986 (c. 66), section 3(4) and the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 18), Schedule 9, paragraph 19(8); section 105(7) was amended by the Health Services Act 1980 (c. 53), Schedule 6, paragraph 5(1) and Schedule 7, the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983 (c. 41), Schedule 9, Part I, paragraph 24 and the Health Act 1999 (c. 8), Schedule 4, paragraph 60; section 108(1) contains definitions of “prescribed” and “regulations” relevant to the exercise of the statutory powers under which these Regulations are made. The functions of the Secretary of State were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46).

1 Citation and commencement
These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Primary Medical Services Section 17C Agreements) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2006 and shall come into force on 31st May 2006.

2 Amendment of the National Health Service (Primary Medical Services Section 17C Agreements) (Scotland) Regulations 2004
In regulation 2 (interpretation) of the National Health Service (Primary Medical Services Section 17C Agreements) (Scotland) Regulations 2004–
(a) for the definition of “independent nurse prescriber”substitute–

““independent nurse prescriber” means a person–
(a) who is either engaged or employed by the provider, is a party to the agreement or is a partner in a partnership that is a party to the agreement; and
(b) who is registered in the Nursing and Midwifery Register; and
(c) against whose name is recorded in that register an annotation signifying that he or she is qualified to order drugs, medicines and appliances as a community practitioner nurse prescriber, a nurse independent prescriber or a nurse independent/supplementary prescriber;”

; and
The definition of “independent nurse prescriber” was substituted by S.I.2004/1771.
(b) for the definition of “supplementary prescriber”substitute–

““supplementary prescriber” means a person who is either engaged or employed by the provider or is a party to the agreement or a partner in a partnership that is a party to the agreement, and whose name is registered in–
(a) the Nursing and Midwifery Register;
(b) the Register of Pharmaceutical Chemists maintained in pursuance of section 2(1) of the Pharmacy Act 1954;
1954 c. 61.
(c) the register maintained in pursuance of Articles 6 and 9 of the Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976;
S.I.1976/1213 (NI 22).
(d) the part of the register maintained by the Health Professions Council in pursuance of article 5 of the Health Professions Order 2001relating to–
(i) chiropodists and podiatrists;
(ii) physiotherapists; or
(iii) diagnostic or therapeutic radiographers; or
S.I.2002/254 to which there are no relevant amending instruments.
(e) the register of optometrists maintained by the General Optical Council in pursuance of section 7 of the Opticians Act 1989,
1989 c. 44; section 7 was amended by S.I.2005/848, article 7.
and against whose name is recorded in the relevant register an annotation signifying that he or she is qualified to order drugs, medicines and appliances as a supplementary prescriber or, in the case of the Nursing and Midwifery Register, a nurse independent/supplementary prescriber;”

.
The definition of “supplementary prescriber” was amended by S.S.I. 2005/336.
S.S.I. 2004/116, relevant amending instrument is S.S.I. 2005/336.
LEWIS MACDONALD Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh 9th May 2006

(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the National Health Service (Primary Medical Services Section 17C Agreement) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (“the principal Regulations”) which regulate the provision of primary medical services under agreements under section 17(C) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978.
These Regulations make changes to the principal Regulations as a consequence of new arrangements for the independent prescribing of drugs, medicines and appliances by nurses. Independent nurse prescribers, unless they are community practitioner nurse prescribers, will no longer be limited to prescribing from a particular formulary.
Regulation 2(a) substitutes a new definition of “independent nurse prescriber”.
Regulation 2(c) substitutes a new definition of “supplementary prescriber”.