The National Health Service (General Medical Services) Amendment Regulations 1993

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Amendment Regulations 1993 and shall come into force on 1st April 1993.

(2) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992(1).

Amendment of regulation 34 of the principal Regulations

2.  In regulation 34(2) of the principal Regulations (payments to doctors), for paragraph (p) there shall be substituted the following paragraphs–

“(p) payments in respect of health promotion programmes or clinics approved by the FHSA;

(pp) payments in respect of disease management programmes approved by the FHSA;”.

Amendment of Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations

3.  In Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations (terms of service for doctors)–

(a) in paragraph 15 (patients not seen within 3 years)–

(i) for sub-paragraph (1) there shall be substituted the following sub- paragraph–

“(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), where a patient who–

(a) has attained the age of 16 years but has not attained the age of 75 years; and

(b) within the preceding 3 years has attended neither a consultation with, nor a clinic provided by, any doctor in the course of his provision of general medical services,

requests a consultation for the purposes of assessing whether he needs personal medical services, a doctor shall in addition to and without prejudice to any other obligation under these terms of service, provide such a consultation.”,

(ii) sub-paragraph (3) shall be omitted, and

(iii) in sub-paragraph (4), for “Where a patient agrees to participate in a consultation mentioned in sub-paragraph (i)”, there shall be substituted “Where a doctor provides a consultation mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)”;

(b) in paragraph 38 (fees) there shall be added at the end the following paragraph–

“(n) pursuant to an arrangement with him for the provision of services in accordance with regulation 23 of the National Health service (Fund- holding Practices) Regulations 1993(2).”; and

(c) in paragraph 50 (annual reports) for paragraph (2) there shall be substituted the following paragraph–

“(2) An annual report shall contain–

(a) the information specified in Schedule 13, paragraphs (1) and (2);

(b) where the FHSA, having considered whether the information is available to it from another source and having consulted the Local Medical Committee, so requests, the information specified in Schedule 13, paragraph (3); and

(c) where the FHSA so requests, in the case of a doctor who is not already supplying that information to the FHSA in order to qualify for payments in respect of health promotion or disease management, the information specified in Schedule 13, paragraph (4).”

Amendment of Schedule 9 to the principal Regulations

4.  In Schedule 9 to the principal Regulations (list of prescribed medical certificates), after paragraph 11 there shall be added the following paragraph–

“12.   To support a claim by or on behalf of a severely mentally impaired person for exemption from liability to pay the Council Tax or eligibility for a discount in respect of the amount of Council Tax payable.

Local Government Finance Act 1992(3)”

Amendment of Schedule 13 to the principal Regulations

5.  For Schedule 13 to the principal Regulations (information to be provided in annual reports) there shall be substituted the Schedule 13 set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

Application of Regulations

6.  The amendments contained in regulations 3(c) and 5 shall not apply to annual reports compiled in respect of the period of 12 months ending on 31st March 1993.

Virginia Bottomley

One of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State

8th March 1993