7. In Schedule 6 to the GMS Contracts Regulations (other contractual terms), immediately after new paragraph 4A (newly registered patients – alcohol dependency screening) as inserted by regulation 4, insert—
4B.—(1) A contractor must ensure that for each of its registered patients (including those patients under the age of 16) there is assigned an accountable general medical practitioner (“accountable GP”).
(2) The accountable GP must take lead responsibility for ensuring that any services which the contractor is required to provide under the contract are, to the extent that their provision is considered necessary to meet the needs of the patient, coordinated and delivered to the patient.
(3) The contractor must—
(a)inform the patient, as soon as is reasonably practicable and in such manner as is considered appropriate by the practice, of the assignment to the patient of an accountable GP and must state the name and contact details of the accountable GP and the role and responsibilities of the accountable GP in respect of the patient;
(b)inform the patient as soon as any circumstances arise in which the accountable GP is not able, for any significant period, to carry out the duties of an accountable GP in respect of the patient; and
(c)where the practice considers it to be necessary, assign a replacement accountable GP to the patient and give notice to the patient accordingly.
(4) The contractor must comply with the requirement in sub-paragraph (3)(a)—
(a)by 30th June 2015, in the case of any person who is included in the contractor’s list of patients immediately before 1st April 2015; or
(b)in the case of any person who is accepted by the contractor as a registered patient on or after 1st April 2015, within 21 days from the date on which that patient is so accepted.
(5) The requirement in this paragraph does not apply to—
(a)any patient of the contractor who is aged 75 or over, or who attains the age of 75, on or after 1st April 2015; or
(b)any other patient of the contractor if the contractor has been informed that the patient does not wish to have an accountable GP.
(6) Where, under sub-paragraph (3)(a), the contractor informs a patient of the assignment to them of an accountable GP, the patient may express a preference as to which general medical practitioner within the contractor’s practice the patient would like to have as the patient’s accountable GP and, where such a preference has been expressed, the contractor must make reasonable efforts to accommodate the request.
(7) Where, under sub-paragraph (5)(b), the contractor has been informed by or in relation to a patient that the patient does not wish to have an accountable GP, the contractor must record that fact in the patient’s record that the contractor is required to keep under paragraph 73.
(8) The contractor must, by no later than 31st March 2016, include information about the requirement to assign an accountable GP to each of its new and existing registered patients—
(a)on the contractor’s practice website (if it has one); and
(b)in the contractor’s practice leaflet.
(9) Where the contractor does not have a practice website, the contractor must include the information referred to in sub-paragraph (8) on its profile page on NHS Choices(1).”.
()NHS Choices is the website available at http://www.nhs.uk which provides information from the National Health Service on conditions, treatments and local services including GP services.