The Health and Personal Social Services(Northern Ireland) Order 1991

Indicative amounts for doctors' practices

21.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), for each financial year, every Health and Social Services Board shall, by notice given to each practice in relation to which it is the relevant Health and Social Services Board, specify an amount of money (in this Order referred to as an “indicative amount”) representing the basic price of the drugs, medicines and listed appliances which, in the opinion of the Board, it is reasonable to expect will be supplied in that year pursuant to orders given by or on behalf of the members of that practice.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to a practice which is or forms part of a fund-holding practice recognised under Article 17.

(3) For the purposes of this Article, a “practice” means—

(a) a single medical practitioner who practises otherwise than in partnership; or

(b) any two or more medical practitioners who practise in partnership; and any reference to the members of a practice shall be construed accordingly.

(4) The members of a practice shall seek to secure that, except with the consent of the relevant Health and Social Services Board or for good cause, the orders for drugs, medicines and listed appliances given by them or on their behalf are such that the basic price of the items supplied pursuant to those orders in any financial year does not exceed the indicative amount notified to the practice for that year under paragraph (1).

(5) For the purpose of measuring the extent to which a practice is operating within the indicative amount notified to it under paragraph

(1) for any financial year, a Health and Social Services Board shall set against that indicative amount an amount equal to the basic price of the drugs, medicines and listed appliances supplied in that year pursuant to orders given by or on behalf of members of the practice.

(6) For the purposes of this Article, regulations may make provision as to the specification of, or means of calculating, the basic price of any drugs, medicines or listed appliances.

(7) In this Article “relevant Health and Social Services Board” in relation to a practice means—

(a) where all the members in that practice have entered into arrangements under Article 56 of the principal Order with the same Board and none of those members has entered into such arrangements with any other Board, the Board with which all the members have entered into such arrangements;

(b) in any other case, the Board in whose area resides the largest number of individuals who are on the lists of patients of the members of the practice.

(8) In this Article “listed” has the same meaning as in Article 63 of the principal Order.