The National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) (Scotland) Regulations 1992

Investigation of matters relating to provision of general services

8.—(1) Subject to regulation 9 and the following paragraphs of this regulation, a Health Board (which in this regulation shall include any committee of a Health Board duly authorised by it in that behalf) may refer for investigation—

(a) to the appropriate service committee, any matter relating to the provision of general medical services, general dental services, general ophthalmic services or pharma ceutical services under the appropriate provisions of section 19, 25, 26 or 27 of the Act whether or not any such matter has been raised on complaint made in accordance with regulation 3; and

(b) to the pharmaceutical service committee, any matter which a Health Board is required to refer to that committee in accordance with their scheme prepared under regulation 29 of the General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services Regulations for testing the quality and checking the amounts of drugs and listed appliances supplied.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the appropriate service committee means—

(a) in relation to general medical services, the medical service committee;

(b) in relation to general dental services, the dental service committee;

(c) in relation to general ophthalmic services, the ophthalmic service committee; and

(d) in relation to pharmaceutical services, the pharmaceutical service committee.

(3) Subject to paragraph (5), a Health Board shall not, without the consent of the profes sional person concerned or of the Secretary of State, refer under paragraph (1) a matter for investigation which involves an allegation of a failure by—

(a) a doctor;

(b) an ophthalmic medical practitioner;

(c) an optician; or

(d) a pharmacist,

to comply with his terms of service unless the reference is made within 13 weeks after the event which gave rise to the allegation.

(4) Subject to paragraph (5), a Health Board shall not, without the consent of the dentist concerned or of the Secretary of State, refer under paragraph (1) a matter for investigation which involves an allegation of a failure by a dentist to comply with his terms of service unless the reference is made—

(a) within 13 weeks after the event which gave rise to the allegation; or

(b) within 6 months after the completion of the treatment in which the failure is alleged to have arisen,

whichever is the sooner.

(5) The provisions of regulation 6(3) with reference to the procedure for an application for the Secretary of State’s consent to an investigation following such a complaint as is referred to in regulation 3(1) shall apply to an application for his consent for the purposes of paragraph (3) or (4) with the substitution—

(a) of the word “complaint” wherever it occurs in regulation 6(3), with the words “terms of the proposed reference”; and

(b) of the words “for the failure to submit the complaint in time” where they occur in regulation 6(3)(b), with the words “why the proposed reference could not have been made before the periods specified in regulation 8(3) or (4)”.

(6) Where the name of the professional person in respect of whom a matter involves an allegation of a failure to comply with his terms of service was, at the time of—

(a) the event; or

(b) where regulation 8(4)(b) applies, the completion of the treatment,

which gave rise to the allegation, included in the relevant list of professional persons, the matter may, subject to the provisions of this Part, be referred to the appropriate service committee under paragraph (1), notwithstanding that the name of the professional person has since been removed from that list.

(7) A matter in respect of which—

(a) an investigation may be made under regulation 16; or

(b) a question arises to which regulation 19 applies,

shall not be referred to a service committee under paragraph (1).