The National Health Service (Personal Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, make provisions concerning arrangements to be made in relation to personal medical services provided under Section 17C of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 (“the 1978 Act”). Pilot scheme arrangements for the provision of personal medical services are already in operation under the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997. These Regulations allow these arrangements to be placed on a permanent footing. These Regulations also ensure that the arrangements for personal medical services under an agreement will be similar in scope to the provision of general medical services.

Regulation 1 contains a list of definitions, relevant to these Regulations.

Regulations 2 to 5 make provision with regard to the agreements themselves. They require the agreements to comply with the terms of Schedules 1 and 4 and provide for withdrawal from an agreement by parties other than a Health Board and for variation of an agreement.

Regulations 7 and 8 provide that personal medical services may only be performed by practitioners meeting certain requirements. These are similar to the requirements applicable to the provision of general medical services.

Regulations 9 to 11 provide for the keeping and maintenance of lists of patients and deal with the circumstances in which patients may be removed from lists or transferred to other lists. The provisions made remain consistent with general medical services requirements.

Regulations 12 and 13 contain provisions allowing parties to agreements to become health service bodies and provide for enforcement of directions as to payments to be made by diligence.

Regulations 14 and 15 provide for financial assistance to be given to certain bodies who seek to enter into agreements. They also provide the conditions under which such assistance may be given. Financial assistance may be given both in respect of work carried out in preparing proposals for an agreement and in respect of the preparatory work in implementing provision of personal medical services.

Regulation 16 provides for liabilities of deputies where deputising arrangements are made. This regulation provides that the person deputising shall be liable for their own acts or omissions.

Schedule 1 sets out the minimum requirements of agreements. These include requirements to identify patients who will receive services, to provide services which are equivalent in scope to general medical services, to make provision regarding the performance of personal medical services by practitioners, to provide requirements in respect of patient lists including setting maximum numbers of patients who may be on a list, and to set out the procedure for acceptance of patients to lists and termination of responsibility for patients. The Schedule also imposes requirements to make provision with regard to practice leaflets containing certain particulars relevant to an agreement.

Particular provisions are to be made in agreements made with qualifying bodies. In particular these include requirements to provide information about transfers of interests in such bodies and terminating the agreement should the interest in the qualifying body transfer to a person or body with whom the Health Board is not permitted to enter into agreements pursuant to section 17C of the 1978 Act. Schedule 1 also requires that adequate insurance arrangements are made for practitioners under an agreement.

Schedule 2 sets out details of an agreement that must be published by a provider. These include details concerning the practices, the performers and the services that will be performed.

Schedule 3 lays down the conditions under which personal medical services may be performed. It requires that an appropriate range of services is provided by suitably experienced practitioners. It makes provision for the issue of appropriate medical certificates and requires that patient records are maintained in a specified manner. It makes provision with regard to the prescribing of drugs, medicines or appliances and with regard to charges.

Schedule 4 sets out a dispute resolution procedure which is to be included in agreements. This procedure enables a matter to be referred to an adjudicator for consideration and decision.

Schedule 5 specifies certain minor surgery services that may be performed under an agreement. These are equivalent to the services that may be provided under general medical services.