Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
2013 No. 114
Health And Personal Social Services
Appointment of Consultants (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013
Made
23rd April 2013
Coming into operation
21st May 2013
The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, in conjunction with the Department of Finance and Personnel(1), makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 89(1), 106(b) and 107(6) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972(2), Articles 10(6)(f) and 33(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991(3) and Section 7(2) and 12(2) of, and paragraph 13(2) of Schedule 1, and paragraph 13(2) of Schedule 2 to, the Health and Social Care (Reform) Act (Northern Ireland) 2009(4).
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Appointment of Consultants (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 and shall come into operation on 21st May 2013.
(2) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the Appointment of Consultants Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(5).
Amendment of regulation 2 of the principal Regulations
2.—(1) Regulation 2 of the principal Regulations (interpretation) is amended as follows.
(2) Before the definition of “application” insert the following definition—
““accredited as a consultant” means, in relation to a person, that the person’s name is included in the Specialist Register kept by the General Medical Council pursuant to section 34D of the Medical Act 1983(6) where that person has either been appointed as a consultant by an Armed Services Consultant Appointment Board or appointed to a consultant post with an Authority;”.
(3) After the definition of “application” insert the following definition—
““Authority” means the Regional Board, the Regional Agency or a Health and Social Care Trust;”.
(4) Omit the definition of “Board”.
(5) In the definition of “Chief Officer” for “a Board” substitute “an Authority”.
(6) After the definition of “Chief Officer” insert the following definition—
““Defence Medical Services” means the medical services of the air force, army and navy of the United Kingdom, whose function is to provide primary and secondary healthcare to service personnel and entitled civilians;”.
(7) After the definition of “consultant” insert the following definition—
““clinical academic posts” means posts involving both academic and clinical duties to which persons are appointed by the Queen’s University of Belfast as the substantive employer and an Authority as the honorary employer;”.
(8) Omit the definition of “joint appointment posts”.
(9) For the definition of “lay member” substitute—
““lay member” means a person who is not—
an employee of any Authority; or
except when he is also Chairman of the Authority, a medical practitioner or a dental practitioner;”.
Amendment of regulation 3 of the principal Regulations
3. In paragraph (1) of regulation 3 (Appointments to which the Regulations apply)—
(a)for “a Board” substitute “an Authority”; and
(b)for sub-paragraph (c) substitute—
“(c)any medical practitioner whether whole-time or part-time to a post of Director of Public Health for Northern Ireland(7).”.
Amendment of regulation 4 of the principal Regulations
4. In regulation 4 (Registration of applicants)—
(a)for “a Board” substitute “an Authority”;
(b)in sub-paragraph (a) omit “registered” each time it occurs; and
(c)for sub-paragraph (b) substitute—
“(b)in the case of an appointment of a medical practitioner, their name is included in the Specialist Register kept by the General Medical Council pursuant to section 34D of the Medical Act 1983.”.
Amendment of regulation 5 of the principal Regulations
5. In regulation 5 (Appointments to which the Regulations do not apply)—
(a)for “Board” wherever it occurs substitute “Authority”;
(b)for paragraph (1)(a) substitute—
“(a)appointed to a clinical academic post;”;
(c)in paragraph (1)(c) for “Northern Ireland Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education” substitute “Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency(8)”;
(d)for paragraph (1)(d) substitute—
“(d)transferred from employment as a consultant—
(i)by an Authority to another consultant post with that Authority; or
(ii)by an Authority to a consultant post with another Authority;
where the employment of the officer would otherwise be terminated by reason of redundancy;”
(e)after paragraph (1)(e) insert—
“(f)a person who has been accredited as a consultant and has been appointed to a consultant post in the Defence Medical Services, and whose appointment to the staff of an Authority will be to a post in which the duties and location of the post are substantially the same as the duties and location of the post previously held in the Defence Medical Services;
(g)a person whose last employment by an Authority was in post as a consultant, the termination of which employment was by reason of retirement and who is appointed to a consultant post in the same Authority without any significant alteration in the duties of the post.”.
Amendment of regulation 6 of the principal Regulations
6. In regulation 6 (Advertising of post)—
(a)for “a Board” wherever it occurs substitute “an Authority”;
(b)at the end of paragraph (1) insert “, and for these purposes only one of the publications may be solely in electronic form.”.
Amendment of regulations 7 to 9 of the principal Regulations
7. In regulation 7 (Constitution of Advisory Appointments Committees), 8 (Selection of Committee) and 9 (Appointments by Boards) for “Board” wherever it occurs substitute “Authority”.
Amendment of Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations
8.—(1) Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations (Constitution of an Advisory Appointments Committee, Consultant Committee) is amended as follows.
(2) For “Board” wherever it occurs substitute “Authority”.
(3) In paragraph 2—
(a)in line 1 for “six” substitute “the following”;
(b)for sub-paragraph (a) substitute—
“(a)one shall be a lay member;”;
(c)for sub-paragraph (d) substitute—
“(d)one shall be the chief officer of the employing authority;”;
(d)for sub-paragraph (e) substitute—
“(e)one shall be a consultant specialising in the branch of medicine or dentistry concerned practising outside the area of the Authority.”
(e)for sub-paragraph (f) substitute—
“(f)where the appointment is to a post which involves teaching or research commitments, one shall be nominated by the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences of the Queen’s University of Belfast. ”.
Amendment of Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations
9.—(1) Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations (Constitution of an Advisory Appointments Committee, Consultant in Public Health Medicine Committee) is amended as follows.
(2) In Schedule 2 for “Board” wherever it occurs substitute “Authority”.
(3) In paragraph 2—
(a)for sub-paragraph (a) substitute—
“(a)one shall be a lay member;”;
(b)for sub-paragraph (c) substitute—
“(c)one shall be the Director of Public Health for Northern Ireland or a professional member nominated by the Director;”;
(c)for sub-paragraph (e) substitute—
“(e)one shall be a consultant in public health medicine practising outside the area of the Authority;”;
(d)for sub-paragraph (f) substitute—
“(f)where the appointment is to a post which involves teaching or research commitments, one shall be nominated by the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences of the Queen’s University of Belfast.”.
Amendment of Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations
10.—(1) Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations (Constitution of an Advisory Appointments Committee, Director of Public Health Committee) is amended as follows.
(2) For “Board” wherever it occurs substitute “Authority”.
(3) In paragraph 2 for sub-paragraph (b) substitute—
“(b)one shall be a lay member;”.
Amendment of Schedule 4 to the principal Regulations
11. In Schedule 4 to the principal Regulations (Proceedings of the Advisory Appointments Committee) for “Board” wherever it occurs substitute “Authority”.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 23rd April 2013
Catherine Daly
A senior officer of the
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 23rd April 2013
John McKibbin
A senior officer of the
Department of Finance and Personnel
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Appointment of Consultants Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 (“the 1996 Regulations”).
Regulation 2 to 4 makes minor amendments to the 1996 regulations.
Regulation 5(a) to (d) makes minor amendments to the 1996 Regulations which update terminology. Regulation 5(e) adds two appointments to which the 1996 Regulations do not apply. The first exemption applies to a person who has been in post as a consultant with the medical services of the army, navy or air force and is appointed to a consultant post in one of the bodies to whom the 1996 Regulations apply without moving location and without the duties involved in the post altering in any significant way. The second exemption applies to a consultant who retires but then returns to a very similar post in the same body, albeit that the terms of his employment may have altered.
Regulation 6 allows one of the advertisements for a consultant appointment to be in electronic form.
Regulations 8, 9 and 10 make a number of amendments to the core members of the Advisory Appointments Committees.
Formerly the Department of Finance: see S.I. 1982/338 (N.I.6) Art.3
S.I. 1972/1265 (N.I. 14) as amended by S.I. 1986/2229 (N.I. 24) and S.I. 1991/194 (N.I. 1)
1983 c.54; section 34D was inserted by paragraph 10 of Schedule 1 to S.I. 2010/234
See Article 32(1) of S.I. 1991/194(N.I.1) as substituted by paragraph 3 (11) of Schedule 6 to 2009 c.1 (N.I.)