Health and Social Care Act 2001

18 Out of hours medical services

(1) This section applies to arrangements made by—

(a) a medical practitioner, in connection with any obligation of his to provide general medical services under arrangements under section 29 of the 1977 Act, or

(b) any person (the “participant”), in connection with any obligation of his to provide personal medical services under section 28C arrangements,

under which a person undertakes, or persons undertake, to provide out of hours services.

(2) Regulations may make provision—

(a) for such arrangements to be made, in the case of a service provider of a specified description, only if the service provider is approved in accordance with the regulations;

(b) for approval to be given, as respects out of hours services provided for persons in the area of any Health Authority, by that Authority or by another Health Authority;

(c) as to steps to be taken by any Health Authority for making available information about approvals which have been given;

(d) as to the procedure for applying for approval;

(e) as to requirements (including requirements imposed by a Health Authority) with which an approved service provider must comply;

(f) as to the suspension or withdrawal of any approval;

(g) as to circumstances in which, while the arrangements are in force, there may be transferred to the service provider—

(i) liabilities or obligations of the medical practitioner by virtue of Part 2 of the 1977 Act, or

(ii) (as the case may be) liabilities or obligations of the participant by virtue of the section 28C arrangements;

(h) as to criteria to be applied in making decisions under the regulations;

(i) as to appeals against decisions of Health Authorities under the regulations.

(3) In this section—

• “medical practitioner” has the same meaning as in the 1977 Act;

• “out of hours period” means any period specified by the regulations as such a period;

• “out of hours services” means general medical services or personal medical services (as the case may be) provided during part or all of an out of hours period;

• “section 28C arrangements” means arrangements made under section 28C of the 1977 Act;

• “service provider”, in relation to arrangements to which this section applies, means the person or persons undertaking to provide out of hours services under the arrangements.