The National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Amendment Regulations 1996

Explanatory Note

(This Note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Regulations 1992 (“the principal Regulations”) by substituting new regulations 3-13 for regulations 3-14, replacing Schedules 2 and 4, revoking Schedules 3 and 6 and making consequential amendments. These provisions replace the system whereby complaints made against practitioners providing services under Part II of the National Health Service Act 1977 were dealt with by service committees. Service committees are abolished and are replaced by discipline committees to which Health Authorities will refer matters for investigation which raise allegations that a practitioner has failed to comply with his terms of service or concern overpayments made to such a practitioner (regulation 4). Unlike service committees, discipline committees will not deal with complaints made by or on behalf of patients. Complaints will be dealt with in accordance with regulations specified in regulation 2(4) of the principal Regulations and Directions given under section 17 of the National Health Service Act 1977 which are available from CA-QC, NHS Executive Headquarters, Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds LS2 7UE.

The Regulations provide for the criteria which must be satisfied for a matter to be referred for investigation, the procedure for investigation, appeals and the imposition of and arrangements to enforce sanctions. Consequential amendments are made to regulations 16, 17, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37 of and Schedule 5 to the principal Regulations (regulations 5 to 11 and 14). Transitional provisions (regulation 15) provide for complaints initiated before 1st April 1996 to proceed as though the principal Regulations had not been amended with the modification that references to “FHSAs” be replaced by references to the Health Authorities which succeed those FHSAs on 1st April 1996 by virtue of the Health Authorities Act 1995 (Transitional Provisions) Order 1996.