The National Health Service (Personal Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2001

Availability of personal medical services and other services

4.—(1) All necessary and appropriate personal medical services of the type usually provided by general medical practitioners shall be performed in respect of the patients receiving personal medical services under an agreement, including the following:–

(a) giving advice, where appropriate, to a patient in connection with the patient’s general health, and in particular about the significance of diet, exercise, the use of tobacco, the consumption of alcohol and the misuse of drugs or solvents;

(b) offering to patients consultations and, where appropriate, physical examinations for the purpose of identifying, or reducing the risk of, disease or injury;

(c) offering to patients appropriate immunisations;

(d) arranging for the referral of patients, as appropriate, for the provision of any other services under the 1978 Act;

(e) giving advice, as appropriate, to enable patients to avail themselves of social work services provided by a local authority; and

(f) providing a cervical smear test–

(i) upon request to all patients who are women aged 21 to 60 (who have a cervix) at intervals of no more than five and a half years; and

(ii) at such shorter intervals as may be appropriate to all patients in respect of whom the need for a cervical smear test is indicated by the result of a previous test or other treatment.

(2) Nothing in this Schedule prevents a performer from–

(a) arranging for the referral of a patient pursuant to paragraph (d) of sub-paragraph (1) without first seeing the patient, in a case where the medical condition of the patient makes that course of action appropriate; or

(b) visiting the patient in circumstances where the agreement does not place the performer under an obligation to do so.