The Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make amendments to certain regulations relating to primary medical services.

Part 2 amends the Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 (the GMS Contracts Regulations). In addition to amendments to clarify or correct the drafting –

Regulation 2(3) widens the definition of general medical practitioner in regulation 2 of the GMS Contracts Regulations to cover all medical practitioners who are included on the General Practitioner Register or who, prior to coming into force of that Register, are suitably experienced within the meaning of Article 8(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 or have an acquired right to practise;

Regulation 3 restricts the categories of general medical practitioner who, under regulation 4 of the GMS Contracts Regulations, can act as the mandatory medical practitioner for the purposes of a general medical services contract. It excludes from that role practitioners who, prior to 1st April 2004, were restricted services principals or who were not considered to be suitably experienced for the purposes of operating as a Principal in the provision of general medical services under Article 56 of the 1972 Order;

Regulation 9(2) disapplies the provisions relating to clinical reports in the case of out of hours services which are covered by the quality standards referred to in paragraph 11 of Schedule 5 to the GMS Contract Regulations;

Regulation 9(4) amends paragraph 31 of Schedule 5 to the GMS Contracts Regulations to enable a contractor’s list of patients which has been closed as a result of a determination by an assessment panel to re-open by agreement before the end of the closure period specified by that panel and, in certain circumstances, to re-close again during that period;

Regulation 9(7) amends the circumstances in paragraph 48 of Schedule 5 to the GMS Contracts Regulations in which a GP Registrar can perform medical services under a contract without being included in a primary medical services performers list. It brings them into line with those in regulation 3(3) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Primary Medical Services Performers Lists) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004;

Regulation 9(8) removes the requirement in paragraph 59 of Schedule 5 to the GMS Contracts Regulations for the Department to consent to the employment of a GP Registrar;

Regulation 9(12) inserts in paragraph 72 of Schedule 5 to the GMS Contracts Regulations a timescale for the provision of information by contractors to the Board;

Regulation 9(14) clarifies the timescale for the submission of annual returns under paragraph 75 of Schedule 5 to the GMS Contracts Regulations;

Regulation 9(16) disapplies the provision in paragraph 90 of Schedule 5 to the GMS Contract Regulations relating to the provision of information about complaints in the case of out of hours services which are covered by the quality standards referred to in paragraph 11 of Schedule 5;

Regulation 9(18) amends paragraph 114 of Schedule 5 to the GMS Contracts Regulations to provide that, for the purpose of meeting his obligation of holding adequate insurance, a contractor can rely on insurance held by a person engaged by him as well as by an employee.

Part 3 of the Regulations amends the definition of GP Registrar in the Health and Personal Social Services (Primary Medical Services Performers Lists) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 to bring it into line with that included in the GMS Contracts Regulations. It also makes amendments to clarify or correct drafting.

Part 4 of the Regulations revokes a provision in the General Medical Services Transitional and Consequential Provisions (No. 2) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 which is no longer required in the light of the amendment to paragraph 59 of Schedule 5 to the GMS Contracts Regulations made by regulation 10(7).

Part 5 of the Regulations makes transitional provision in relation to the removal by regulation 3 of the right of former restricted services principals to be the mandatory general medical practitioner for the purposes of a general medical services contract.