The National Health Service (General Medical Services) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1998

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992 (“the principal Regulations”), which regulate the selection of general practitioners (“GPs”) to fill practice vacancies and the maintenance of medical lists containing the names of those GPs who have entered into arrangements with Health Authorities to provide general medical services.

Regulation 5 gives effect to Schedule 1 which substitutes a new Part III of the principal Regulations providing for a new system regulating the identification of vacancies by the Medical Practices Committee and the nomination and approval of GPs by Health Authorities to fill practice vacancies as either sole practitioners or as members of a partnership. It further provides for a new system for replacing full time doctors in partnerships, in which case the Medical Practices Committee need not be involved in the identification of any vacancy. Regulation 5 also contains consequential amendments.

Regulations 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8, and Schedule 2, contain amendments which are consequential upon regulation 5.

Regulation 6 contains amendments consequential upon the revocation of section 30 of the National Health Service Act 1977 by section 32(2) of the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997.

Regulation 9 contains provision about circumstances existing at the date these Regulations come into force.