Health and Medicines Act 1988

Remuneration of practitioners etc.

15 Remuneration in respect of training

(1) At the end of subsection (1) of section 43A of the [1977 c. 49.] National Health Service Act 1977 (regulations as to remuneration of persons providing services) and section 28A of the [1978 c. 29.] National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (which makes corresponding provision for Scotland) there shall be added the words “and may include provision for the remuneration of persons providing those services in respect of the instruction of any person in matters relating to those services”.

(2) At the end of subsection (2)(d) of each of those sections there shall be added the words “or instruction”.

(3) Any determination in relation to remuneration in respect of services under Part II of the National Health Service Act 1977 or Part II of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 which was made after the passing of this Act but at a time before the coming into force of a provision inserted by section 7 of the [1984 c. 48.] Health and Social Security Act 1984 shall be deemed to be validly made if regulations authorising such a determination could have been made had that provision been in force at that time.

16 Limits on reimbursement of expenses

(1) The following sub-paragraphs shall be substituted for subsection (1)(b)(ii) of section 97 of the National Health Service Act 1977 (means of meeting expenditure of health authorities out of public funds)—

“(ii) for any kind of expenditure attributable to reimbursement of expenses of persons providing services in pursuance of Part II of this Act for which he allots an amount to the Committee, an amount not exceeding the amount so allotted;

(iii) for any other expenditure attributable to remuneration of persons providing such services, sums equal to that expenditure;”.

(2) In subsection (1) of section 97B of that Act (financial duties of Family Practitioner Committees) for the words from “attributable”, in the second place where it occurs, to “services”, in the second place where it occurs, there shall be substituted the words “such as is mentioned in section 97(1)(b)(iii) above”.

(3) In section 85(2) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (restriction in relation to payments by Secretary of State in respect of expenditure attributable to performance by certain bodies of their functions), for the words “sums equal to the expenditure which he determines is attributable to the performance of those functions in that year” there shall be substituted the following paragraphs—

“(a) such amounts as he may allot for any kind of expenditure attributable to reimbursement of expenses of persons providing services in pursuance of that Part; and

(b) sums equal to any other expenditure attributable to remuneration of persons providing such services.”

(4) In section 85A of that Act (financial duties of certain bodies)—

(a) in subsection (1)(a), after “85(1)” there shall be inserted the words “and, as the case may be, section 85(2)(a)”; and

(b) in subsection (6)(c), after “85(1)” there shall be inserted the words “, or, as the case may be, section 85(2)(a)”.

17 Arrangements for provision of general medical services, general dental services, general ophthalmic services and pharmaceutical services

(1) Without prejudice to the generality of section 29, 36, 39 or 42 of the [1977 c. 49.] National Health Service Act 1977 or of section 19, 25(2), 26(2) or 27(2) of the [1978 c. 29.] National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, the powers to make regulations conferred by each of those sections include power—

(a) to make provision as to the investigation (following a complaint or otherwise) of any matter relating to services under the section in question;

(b) to specify—

(i) who is to conduct an investigation;

(ii) whether an inquiry may be held in connection with an investigation;

(iii) rights of appeal following a decision or recommendation on an investigation;

(iv) who is to conduct an appeal; and

(v) the procedure to be followed on any investigation, inquiry or appeal;

(c) to direct that in prescribed circumstances one or more of the sanctions specified in subsection (2) below shall be available;

(d) to make provision for any purposes (whether or not falling within paragraph (a), (b) or (c) above) that appear to the Secretary of State to correspond to the purposes of any provision contained in Part II of the [S.I. 1974 No. 455.] National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Regulations 1974 or, as the case may be, Part II of the [S.I. 1974 No. 504.] National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) (Scotland) Regulations 1974.

(2) The sanctions mentioned in subsection (1)(c) above are—

(a) in the case of any person—

(i) recovery of an amount by deduction from his remuneration or otherwise; and

(ii) a warning that he should comply more closely with his obligations under arrangements made in accordance with the relevant regulations; and

(b) in the case of a dental practitioner, a restriction on his carrying out treatment or a description of treatment without first obtaining from a body prescribed by the regulations approval of an estimate in relation to it.

(3) Regulations made—

(a) before the passing of this Act; or

(b) after it but before the coming into force of this section,

shall be deemed to be validly made if they could have been validly made had this section been in force.