The National Health Service (Primary Medical Services Section 17C Agreements) (Scotland) Regulations 2004

Removal from the list of patients who are violent

14.—(1) A provider which wishes a patient to be removed from its list of patients with immediate effect on the grounds that–

(a) the patient has committed an act of violence against any of the persons specified in sub paragraph (2) or behaved in such a way that any such person has feared for that person’s own safety; and

(b) the provider has reported the incident to the police or the Procurator Fiscal,

shall notify the Health Board in accordance with sub-paragraph (3).

(2) The persons referred to in sub-paragraph (1) are–

(a) an individual that is a party to the agreement;

(b) a partner in a partnership that is a party to the agreement;

(c) a legal and beneficial owner or shares in a company that is a party to the agreement;

(d) a member of the provider’s staff;

(e) a person engaged by the provider to perform or assist in the performance of services under the agreement; or

(f) any other person present–

(i) on the practice premises; or

(ii) in the place where services were provided to the patient under the agreement.

(3) Notification under sub-paragraph (1) may be given by any means including telephone or fax but if not given in writing shall subsequently be confirmed in writing within 7 days (and for this purpose a faxed notification or transmission by electronic means is not a written one).

(4) The Health Board shall acknowledge in writing receipt of a request from the provider under sub-paragraph (1).

(5) A removal requested in accordance with sub-paragraph (1) shall take effect at the time that the provider–

(a) makes the telephone call to the Health Board; or

(b) sends or delivers the notification to the Health Board.

(6) Where, pursuant to this paragraph, the provider has notified the Health Board that it wishes to have a patient removed from the provider’s list of patients, it shall, inform the patient concerned unless–

(a) it is not reasonably practicable for the provider to do so; or

(b) the provider has reasonable grounds for believing that to do so would–

(i) be harmful to the physical or mental health of the patient; or

(ii) put at risk the safety of one or more of the persons specified in sub-paragraph (2).

(7) Where the Health Board has removed a patient from the provider’s list of patients in accordance with sub-paragraph (5) it shall give written notice of the removal to that patient.

(8) Where a patient is removed from the provider’s list of patients in accordance with this paragraph, the provider shall record in the patient’s medical records that the patient has been removed under this paragraph and the circumstances leading to the patient’s removal.