The National Health Service (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 1991

Insertion of new regulations 12A (conditions under which general medical services are to be provided) and 12B (Variation of conditions)

9.  After regulation 12 (procedure for the determination of applications) there shall be inserted the following new regulations:—

“Conditions under which general medical services are to be provided

12A.   Where, for the purposes of section 23(4)(a) of the Act(1), the Medical Practices Committee specifies the provision of general medical services for which an applicant is entitled to be remunerated, they shall do so by reference to the condition that he shall provide such services as—

(a) a full-time doctor, that is to say a doctor who is to provide general medical services during not less than 26 hours in any week in which he is, pursuant to paragraph 13A of the terms of service, available to provide such services; or

(b) a three-quarter-time doctor, that is to say a doctor who is to provide such services during less than 26 hours, but not less than 19 hours, in any such week; or

(c) a half-time doctor, that is to say a doctor who is to provide such services during less than 19 hours, but not less than 13 hours, in any such week; or

(d) a job-sharing doctor, that is to say a doctor—

(i) who is to practise in partnership with another doctor whose name is included in the medical list;

(ii) who is himself to provide such services during less than 26 hours in any such week; and

(iii) for whom the hours during which he is to be engaged in the provision of such services are, when aggregated with the hours of that other doctor, to amount to not less than 26 hours in any such week; or

(e) a restricted doctor, that is to say a doctor—

(i) who is a restricted list principal or a restricted services principal; and

(ii) who is to provide general medical services during such number of hours in any week as that Committee shall determine having regard to the range of services to be provided by the doctor and the category of patients to whom the services are to be provided.

Variation of conditions

12B.— (1) A doctor whose name is included in a medical list may apply, in accordance with paragraph (2), for the variation of any condition—

(a) imposed by the Medical Practices Committee—

(i) excluding the provision by that doctor of general medical services in a specified part or specified parts of the area of the Health Board;

(ii) on or after 1st April 1991, under regulation 12A in relation to the extent to which that doctor may carry out remunerated work;

(b) imposed by the Secretary of State in connection with the determination by him of any appeal from a decision of the Medical Practices Committee;

(c) treated, by virtue of regulation 22(3) of the Amendment Regulations, as having been imposed by that Committee on 1st April 1991.

(2) An application for the purposes of paragraph (1) shall be made in writing to the Health Board and shall include the information specified in Part IIA of Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

(3) On receipt of an application under this regulation, the Health Board shall forward the application to the Medical Practices Committee, together with its observations in writing on the application.

(4) The Health Board shall send to the doctor a copy of the observations it has made on his application, and the doctor may, within 14 days of receiving the copy of the observations, send to the Medical Practices Committee his representations in writing in response to the observations.

(5) The provisions of regulation 12(2) and (4) as respects the constitution and quorum of the Medical Practices Committee shall applying the case of a decision by that Committee in relation to an application under this regulation as they apply to a decision in relation to an application under that regulation.

(6) The Medical Practices Committee shall not consider an application under this regulation until it has received representations from the doctor under paragraph (4) or until the time allowed under that paragraph for the making of representations has expired, whichever is the earlier.

(7) On consideration of an application under this regulation the Medical Practices Committee—

(a) shall take account of the observations made by the Health Board and of any observations made by the doctor in response;

(b) in deciding the application, may—

(i) refuse to vary any condition in respect of which the application was made; or

(ii) vary any such condition by imposing in relation to the doctor such other condition mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) to (c) as has been requested in the application; and

(c) shall give notice of its decision in writing to the doctor and to the Health Board.

(8) Where the Medical Practices Committee refuses under paragraph (7)(b) to vary a condition it shall, when it gives notice to the doctor of its decision—

(a) include with the notice a statement of the reasons for its decision; and

(b) advise the doctor of his right of appeal under paragraph (9).

(9) A doctor may appeal to the Secretary of State on a point of law against the refusal of the Medical Practices Committee to vary a condition under this regulation, and—

(a) regulation 13 shall apply to the making and determination of any such appeal; and

(b) where the Secretary of State allows such an appeal, he shall remit the application to that Committee for reconsideration.”.

(1)

Section 23(4)(a) was inserted by the 1990 Act, section 39(3).