General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Insertion of regulation 40B in the principal regulations

7.  After regulation 40A of the principal regulations there shall be inserted—

“Payments to suspended chemists

40B.— (1) The Board shall make payments to any chemist who is suspended by direction of the Tribunal in accordance with the Department’s determination in relation to such payments.

(2) The Department shall make the determination in accordance with paragraph (3) after consultation with such organisations so recognised as representing chemists with whom arrangements for the provision of pharmaceutical services exist, and it shall be published with the Drug Tariff.

(3) The determination may be amended from time to time by the Department, after consultation with the organisations referred to in paragraph (2), and any amendments shall also be published with the Drug Tariff.

(4) Subject to paragraphs (5) and (6), the Department’s determination shall be such as to secure that, as far as reasonably practicable, and after making adjustments for any reduction in expenses, the suspended chemist receives payments at a rate corresponding to his remuneration under the Drug Tariff (but excluding any payments made by virtue of regulation 40(1)(c) and (i)) during the 12 months ending with the direction for suspension by the Tribunal.

(5) The Department’s determination may include provision that payments in accordance with the determination are not to exceed a specified amount in any specified period.

(6) In a case to which paragraph 8B(3) of Schedule 11 to the Order applies, the determination shall provide for the payments to be reduced to take account of any payments which the suspended chemist receives for providing pharmaceutical services other than as a principal.”.