19.—(1) A default contract must require the contractor to provide the services specified in paragraph (2) throughout the out of hours period unless the contract is, at the date on which it is signed, with—
(a)a medical practitioner who is, or was, on 31st March 2004, relieved of responsibility for providing services to his patients under paragraph 18(2) of Schedule 2 to the 1992 Regulations(1); or
(b)a partnership in which all of the partners who are general medical practitioners are, or were on 31st March 2004, relieved of responsibility for providing services to their patients under that paragraph.
(2) The services referred to in paragraph (1) are—
(a)services which would be essential services if provided in core hours; and
(b)such additional services as are included in the contract pursuant to article 16.
(3) Where a default contract is with—
(a)an individual medical practitioner who is, or was on 31st March 2004, responsible for providing services during all or part of the out of hours period to the patients of a medical practitioner who meets the requirements in paragraph (4); or
(b)two or more individuals practising in partnership at least one of whom is, or was on 31st March 2004, a medical practitioner responsible for providing such services,
that default contract must require the contractor to continue to provide such services to the patients of the exempt contractor for as long as the default contract subsists.
(4) The requirements referred to in paragraph (3)(a) are that—
(a)the medical practitioner was relieved of responsibility for providing services to his or her patients under paragraph 18(2) of Schedule 2 to the 1992 Regulations; and
(b)the medical practitioner —
(i)has entered or intends to enter into a default or general medical services contract which does not include out of hours services pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) or regulation 30(1)(b)(i) of the 2004 Regulations,
(ii)is one of two or more individuals practising in partnership who have entered or intends to enter into a default or general medical services contract which does not include out of hours services pursuant to paragraph (1)(b) or regulation 30(1)(b)(ii) of the 2004 Regulations, or
(iii)is a legal and beneficial shareholder in a company which has entered or intends to enter into a general medical services contract which does not include out of hours services pursuant to regulation 30(1)(b)(iii) of the 2004 Regulations.
(5) In this article “exempt contractor” means a contractor who is exempt from providing out of hours services pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) or (b) or regulation 30(1)(b) of the 2004 Regulations.
(6) Nothing in this article shall require a default contractor to provide out of hours services if, in the reasonable opinion of the 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 the patient could obtain such services during core hours.
Paragraph 18(2) was amended by S.I. 2002/2469.