The National Health Service (General Medical Services) Amendment Regulations 2001

Statutory Instruments

2001 No. 706

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, ENGLAND

The National Health Service (General Medical Services) Amendment Regulations 2001

Made

5th March 2001

Laid before Parliament

6th March 2001

Coming into force

1st April 2001

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 29 and 126(4) of the National Health Service Act 1977(1) hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement, extent and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Amendment Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 1st April 2001.

(2) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992(2).

(3) These Regulations extend only to England.

Amendment of Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations

2.—(1) In paragraph 43 of Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations (prescribing), in sub-paragraph (3) for “drugs specified in Schedule 2” substitute—

• “the drug buprenorphine or a drug specified in Schedule 2”.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health

Hunt

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,

Department of Health

5th March 2001

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 terms on which doctors provide General Medical Services under the National Health Service Act 1977.

The Regulations amend paragraph 43 of Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations to allow doctors to prescribe buprenorphine by instalments, in addition to those drugs listed in Schedule 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 1985, for the treatment of drug addiction to any of the drugs listed in that Schedule.

(1)

1977 c. 49, see section 128(1) as amended by the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19) (“the 1990 Act”), section 26(2)(g) and (i), for the definitions of “prescribed” and “regulations”. Section 29 was extended by the Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c. 49), section 17; and amended by the Health Services Act 1980 (c. 53), sections 1 and 7 and Schedule 1, paragraph 42(b); by the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983 (c. 41), Schedule 6, paragraph 2; by the Medical Act 1983 (c. 54), section 56(1) and Schedule 5, paragraph 16(a); by S.I. 1985/39, article 7(3); by the Health Authorities Act 1995 (c. 17), Schedule 1, paragraph 18; and by the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997 (c. 46), Schedule 2, paragraph 8. Section 126(4) was amended by the 1990 Act, section 65(2), and by the Health Act 1999 (c. 8), Schedule 4, paragraph 37(6). As regards Wales, the functions of the Secretary of State under sections 29 and 126(4) of the 1977 Act are transferred to the National Assembly for Wales under article 2 of, and Schedule 1 to, the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999, S.I. 1999/672; these Regulations therefore only extend to England.

(2)

S.I. 1997/635, there are no relevant amending instruments.