The National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995

Assignment of persons to doctors

20.—(1) If a person applies to the Board for assignment to a doctor (irrespective of whether or not he is at the date of application included in the list of patients of another doctor), or is deemed to have so applied in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 4(4) of the terms of service, the Board shall assign him to such doctor as it thinks fit (including the doctor in whose list of patients he is presently included), having regard to the distance between the person’s place of residence and the premises at which the doctors in the locality carry on practice and to such other circumstances as appear to the Board to be relevant, and shall forthwith give notice in writing of any decision hereunder to—

(a) the person;

(b) any doctor to whom the person is assigned by virtue of this regulation; and

(c) to any other doctor who may be concerned.

(2) A doctor may apply to the Board to be exempted from having assigned to him any person or class of persons and the Board may grant or refuse any application under this paragraph.

(3) Where an application under paragraph (2) relates only to a specified person who has previously been removed from the list of the doctor, the Board shall take into account the circumstances of that removal in deciding whether to grant or refuse the application.

(4) Any doctor of a description specified in paragraph 5 of the terms of service may apply to the Board to be granted relief from liability from emergency calls as provided in that paragraph and the Board may grant or refuse any application hereunder.

(5) Forthwith after it takes any decision in respect of any application under paragraph (2) or (4) the Board shall give notice in writing to the doctor of its decision with its reasons therefor.

(6) A doctor in respect of whom a Board has made a decision (“the initial decision”) under paragraph (1), (2) or (4) may, within 7 days of receiving notice of it, make representations in writing to that Board against that decision.

(7) Where a doctor makes representations under paragraph (6) the Board shall give to that doctor the opportunity to address it in the course of an oral hearing in support of those representations.

(8) Any oral hearing under paragraph (7) shall be held within 14 days of receipt by the Board of the representations.

(9) Where representations are made under paragraph (6) the Board shall, subject to paragraph (11), review its initial decision and shall either confirm or revise it.

(10) A doctor who has made representations under paragraph (6) shall remain responsible for the treatment of the person assigned to him pending notification under paragraph (12) of the confirmation or revision of the assignment by the Board.

(11) No person who participated in the making of an initial decision under this regulation shall participate in a review of that decision under paragraph (10).

(12) The Board shall, within 7 days of making a determination under paragraph (9), give notice to the doctor thereof in writing with its reasons therefor, and, where an initial decision made under paragraph (1) has been revised, shall notify also the patient and the other doctor to whom the patient is assigned under the revised determination.