The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Wales) Regulations 2004

Temporary arrangements for transfer of obligations and liabilities in relation to certain out of hours services

1.—(1) In this Schedule —

“transferee doctor” means a person with whom an arrangement is made under sub-paragraph (2)

“out of hours arrangement” means an arrangement under sub-paragraph (2);

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, where a contractor is required to provide out of hours services under regulation 30 or 31 it may, until 31st December 2004, with the approval of the Local Health Board, make an arrangement with a person who holds a general medical services contract with the Local Health Board which includes the provision of out of hours services as if the enactments specified in sub-paragraph (4) subject to the modifications specified in sub-paragraph (5) were still in force.

(3) Subject to paragraph 2(3)(f) an arrangement made in accordance with sub-paragraph (2) shall, for so long as it continues, relieve the contractor of —

(a) its obligations to provide out of hours services pursuant to regulation 30 or 31; and

(b) all liabilities under the contract in respect of those services.

(4) The enactments referred to in sub-paragraph (2) are paragraphs 18A to 18C of Schedule 2 to the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992(1) subject to the modifications in paragraph (5).

(5) The modifications referred to in sub-paragraph (4) are —

(a) as if out of hours period had the meaning given in regulation 2 of these Regulations;

(b) as if a transferee doctor meant a person referred to in sub-paragraph (2) (as modified by this sub-paragraph) who has undertaken to carry out the obligations of a contractor during all or part of the out of hours period in accordance with an out of hours arrangement referred to in that sub-paragraph;

(c) as if the references to a doctor in paragraphs 18A(2) (except in head (b)), (3), (4), (5), (7)(b) to (g), (9)(a), (c) and (d), (10, (11) and (13), 18B(1)(2) and (4) to (7) and 18C were references to a contractor.

(d) as if the references to terms of service in paragraph 18A(2), (7)(b) and (f) were references to a contract;

(e) as if the reference to a doctor included in the medical list in paragraph 18A(2)(b) were replaced with a reference to a person who —

(i) holds a general medical services contract, or

(ii) provides personal medical services under section 28C of the Act;

(f) as if the reference to a doctor ceasing to be included in a medical list in paragraph 18A(2C) was a reference to a person ceasing to hold a general medical services contract or to provide personal medical services;

(g) as if the reference to services to patients with whom the doctor has made an arrangement under regulation 31 in paragraph 18A(4) was a reference to services which the doctor is required to provide under the contract;

(h) as if the words “where his name is included in the list of another Health Authority or Primary Care Trust” were omitted from paragraph 18A(7)(a); and

(i) as if sub-paragraphs (6), (7)(h), (14) and (15) of paragraph 18A were omitted.

(6) An arrangement referred to in sub-paragraph (2) shall terminate if the person with whom it is made ceases to hold a general medical services contract.

(7) A contractor may make more than one out of hours arrangement and may do so (for example) with different transferee doctors and in respect of different patients, different times and different parts of its practice area.

(8) A contractor may retain responsibility for, or make separate out of hours arrangements in respect of, the provision of maternity medical services to any patients under the contract and any separate out of hours arrangements it makes may encompass all or any part of the maternity medical services it provides.

(9) Nothing in this paragraph prevents a contractor from retaining or resuming its obligations in relation to named patients.

(1)

S.I. 1992/635 amended by S.I. 1996/702; S.I. 2002/1896 (W.197).