The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2015

Assignments to closed lists: composition and determinations of the assessment panel

41.—(1) Where the Board wants to assign a new patient to a contractor which has closed its lists of patients, the Board must prepare a proposal to be considered by the assessment panel.

(2) The Board must give notice in writing to—

(a) contractors, including those contractors who provide primary medical services under arrangements made under section 83(2) of the Act(1) or 92 of the Act (which relate to arrangements for the provision of primary medical services) which—

(i) have closed their lists of patients, and

(ii) may, in the opinion of the Board, be affected by the determination of the assessment panel; and

(b) the Local Medical Committee (if any) for the area in which the contractors referred to in paragraph (a) provide essential services (or their equivalent),

that it has referred the matter to the assessment panel.

(3) The Board must ensure that the assessment panel is appointed to consider and determine the proposal made under sub-paragraph (1), and the composition of the assessment panel must be as described in sub-paragraph (4).

(4) The members of the assessment panel must be—

(a) a member of the Board who is a director;

(b) a patient representative who is a member of the Local Health and Wellbeing Board(2) or Local Healthwatch organisation(3);

(c) a member of a Local Medical Committee, but not a member of the Local Medical Committee (if any) for the area in which the contractors who may be assigned patients as a consequence of the assessment panel’s determination provide services.

(5) In reaching its determination, the assessment panel must have regard to all relevant factors including—

(a) whether the Board has attempted to secure the provision of essential services (or their equivalent) for new patients other than by means of assignment to a contractor with a closed list; and

(b) the workload of those contractors likely to be affected by any decision to assign such patients to their list of patients.

(6) The assessment panel must reach a determination before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the panel was appointed.

(7) The assessment panel must—

(a) determine whether the Board may assign new patients to a contractor which has a closed list of patients; and

(b) if it determines that the Board may make such an assignment, determine, where there is more than one contractor, the contractors to which patients may be assigned.

(8) The assessment panel may determine that the Board may assign new patients to contractors other than any of the contractors specified in its proposals under sub-paragraph (1), as long as the contractors were given notice in writing under sub-paragraph (2)(a).

(9) The assessment panel’s determination must include its comments on the matters referred to in sub-paragraph (5), and notice in writing of that determination must be given to those contractors referred to in sub-paragraph (2)(a).

(1)

Section 151 was amended by paragraph 79 of Schedule 4 to the 2012 Act.

(2)

See section 194 of the 2012 Act which requires a local authority to establish a Health and Wellbeing Board for its area.

(3)

Local Healthwatch organisations are bodies corporate with which a local authority may enter into arrangements under section 222 of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 (c.28) for the purpose of discharging their functions. Section 222 was amended by section 183 of, and Schedules 5 and 14 to, the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (c.7).