These Regulations may be cited as the Health Services (Choice of Medical Practitioner) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 and shall come into operation on 1st April 1999.

In these Regulations–

• “the 1972 Order” means the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972;

• “the 1997 Order” means the Health Services (Primary Care) (Northern Ireland) Order 19972;

• “the Agency” means the Northern Ireland Central Services Agency for the Health and Social Services, established under Article 26 of the 1972 Order;

• “board” means a Health and Social Services Board;

• “child health surveillance services” means the services described in regulation 27 of, and paragraph 1 of Schedule 4 to, the GMS Regulations;

• “contraceptive services” means the services described in regulation 3(1)(c) of the GMS Regulations;

• “doctor” means a medical practitioner;

• “doctor’s list” means a list of a doctor’s patients kept by the Agency–

  1. i

     in respect of a doctor providing general medical services, in accordance with regulation 18 of the GMS Regulations, or

  2. ii

     in respect of a doctor performing personal medical services in connection with a pilot scheme, in accordance with directions given under Article 8(1) of the 1997 Order3;

• “the GMS Regulations” means the General Medical Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 19974;

• “maternity medical services” means the services described in regulation 34 of, and Schedule 7 to, the GMS Regulations;

• “medical card” means a card issued to a person, in a form approved by the Department, for the purpose of enabling him to obtain, or establishing his title to receive, primary medical services other than contraceptive services, maternity medical services, child health surveillance services and minor surgery services;

• “minor surgery services” means the services described in regulation 36 of, and Schedule 7 to, the GMS Regulations;

• “personal medical services” has the meaning assigned to it in Article 3(7) of the 1997 Order;

• “pilot scheme” has the meaning assigned to it in Article 3(1) of the 1997 Order;

• “pilot scheme provider” means a person, other than a board, who is a party to a pilot scheme;

• “pooled list” means a list of person who have been accepted by a pilot scheme provider for the provision of personal medical services under the pilot scheme, and whose names are not included in a doctor’s list;

• “primary medical services” means the services described in Article 15E(5) of the 1972 Order5; and

• “temporary resident” shall be construed in accordance with regulation 6.