Out of hours services to patients not registered with general medical services contractors or default contractors
68.—(1) Where a general medical services contractor or a default contractor is required under article 24 or 25 of the Transitional Order to provide any of the additional services to patients who are not included on its list of patients, it shall, for so long as that requirement continues, and subject to paragraphs (2) and (4), also be required to provide that service to those patients throughout the out of hours period.
(2) In the case of a general medical services contract, the requirement referred to in paragraph (1) shall cease on the date on which any opt out of out of hours services commences pursuant to the terms of the general medical services contract which gives effect to paragraphs 4 or 5 of Schedule 3 to the 2004 Regulations.
(3) Where paragraph (2) applies, the requirement to inform patients of opt outs in the term of the general medical services contract which gives effect to paragraph 6 of Schedule 3 to the 2004 Regulations shall apply to the patients to whom services are provided pursuant to this article as it applies to the general medical services contractor’s own registered patients.
(4) Nothing in this article shall require a general medical services contractor or a default contractor to provide services under this article if, in the reasonable opinion of the default contractor or the general medical services contractor in the light of the patient’s medical condition it would be reasonable in all the circumstances for the patient to wait for the services required until the next time at which he or she could obtain such services during core hours.
(5) Services included in a general medical services contract or a default contract pursuant to this article shall be deemed to fall within the definition of out of hours services for the purposes of—
(a)the terms of the general medical services contract which give effect to paragraphs 11, 13 and 69 to 71 of Schedule 6 to the 2004 Regulations and Schedule 7 to those Regulations; or
(b)any equivalent terms of the default contract.