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

27.—(1) The functions of a Local Medical Committee which are prescribed for the purposes of section 45A(9) (Local Medical Committees) of the Act(1) are—

(a) the consideration of any complaint made to it by any medical practitioner against a medical practitioner specified in paragraph (2) providing services under a contract in the relevant area involving any question of the efficiency of those services;

(b) the reporting of the outcome of the consideration of any such complaint to the Primary Care Trust with whom the contract is held in cases where that consideration gives rise to any concerns relating to the efficiency of services provided under a contract;

(c) the making of arrangements for the medical examination of a medical practitioner specified in paragraph (2), where the contractor or the Primary Care Trust is concerned that the medical practitioner is incapable of adequately providing services under the contract and it so requests with the agreement of the medical practitioner concerned; and

(d) the consideration of the report of any medical examination arranged in accordance with sub-paragraph (c) and the making of a written report as to the capability of the medical practitioner of adequately providing services under the contract to the medical practitioner concerned, the contractor and the Primary Care Trust with whom the contractor holds a contract.

(2) The medical practitioner referred to in paragraph (1)(a) and (c) is a medical practitioner who is—

(a) a contractor;

(b) one of two or more individuals practising in partnership who hold a contract; or

(c) a legal and beneficial shareholder in a company which holds a contract.

(3) In this regulation, “the relevant area” means the area for which the Local Medical Committee is formed.

(1)

Section 45A was inserted into the Act by paragraph 23 of Schedule 11 to the 2003 Act.