The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004

Out of hours services

31.—(1) Where the contract is with—

(a) a 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 (2);

(b) a partnership, at least one member of which is, or was on 31st March 2004, a medical practitioner responsible for providing such services; or

(c) a company in which one or more of the shareholders is, or was on 31st March 2004, a medical practitioner responsible for providing such services,

the contract with that contractor must require the contractor to continue to provide such services to the patients of the exempt contractor until the happening of one of the events in paragraph (3).

(2) The requirements referred to in paragraph (1)(a) are that—

(a) the medical practitioner was relieved of responsibility for providing services to the practitioner’s patients under paragraph 17(2) of Schedule 1 to the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995; and

(b) the medical practitioner—

(i) has entered or intends to enter into a contract which does not include out of hours services pursuant to regulation 30(1)(b)(i);

(ii) is one of the partners in the partnership which has entered or intends to enter into a contract which does not include out of hours services pursuant to regulation 30(1)(b)(ii); or

(iii) is the owner of shares in a company which has entered or intends to enter into a contract which does not include out of hours services pursuant to regulation 30(1)(b)(iii).

(3) The events referred to in paragraph (1) are—

(a) the contractor has opted out of the provision of out of hours services in accordance with paragraph 4 or 5 of Schedule 2; or

(b) the Health Board (and, if it is different, the Health Board with whom the exempt contractor holds a contract) has or have agreed in writing that the contractor need no longer provide some or all of those services to some or all of those patients.

(4) In this regulation “exempt contractor” means a contractor who is relieved of responsibility for providing out of hours services pursuant to regulation 30(1)(b).