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

Assignments to closed lists: NHS dispute resolution procedure relating to determinations of the assessment panel

36.—(1) Where an assessment panel makes a determination under paragraph 35(7) that the Health Board may assign new patients to contractors which have closed their lists of patients, any contractor specified in that determination may refer the matter to the Scottish Ministers to review the determination of the assessment panel.

(2) Where more than one contractor specified in the determination in accordance with paragraph 35(7) wishes to refer the matter for dispute resolution, those contractors may, if they all agree, refer the matter jointly, and in that case the Scottish Ministers shall review the matter in relation to those contractors together.

(3) Where a matter is referred to the Scottish Ministers under sub-paragraph (1) or (2), it shall be determined in accordance with the NHS dispute resolution procedure as modified as follows—

(a)in paragraph 91(3), for “a dispute as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)” substitute “the matter as mentioned in paragraph 36(1)”;

(b)for paragraph 91(4) substitute—

“(4) The contractor (or contractors) wishing to refer the matter as mentioned in paragraph 36(1) must send the request to the Scottish Ministers within the period of 7 days beginning with the date of the determination by the assessment panel in accordance with paragraph 35(7).”;

(c)for paragraph 91(13) substitute—

“(13) In this paragraph, “specified period” means such period as the Scottish Ministers shall specify in the request sent under sub-paragraphs (6) or (8), being not less than one, nor more than two, weeks beginning with the date on which the request is given, but the adjudicator may, if the period for determination of the dispute has been extended in accordance with sub-paragraph (19), extend any such period (even after it has expired) and, where it the adjudicator does so, a reference in this paragraph to the specified period is to the period as so extended.”

(d)after paragraph 91(15), there shall be inserted the following sub-paragraphs—

“(16) Subject to sub-paragraph (19), within the period of 21 days beginning with the date on which the matter was referred to the Scottish Ministers, the adjudicator shall determine whether the Health Board may assign patients to contractors which have closed their lists of patients; and if the adjudicator determines that the Health Board may make such assignments, the adjudicator shall also determine those contractors to which patients may be assigned.

(17) The adjudicator may not determine that patients may be assigned to a contractor which was not specified in the determination of the assessment panel under paragraph 35(7).

(18) In the case of a matter referred jointly by contractors in accordance with paragraph 36(2), the adjudicator may determine that patients may be assigned to one, some or all of the contractors which referred the matter.

(19) The period of 21 days referred to in sub-paragraph (15) may be extended (even after it has expired) by a further specified number of days if an agreement to that effect is reached by—

(a)the adjudicator;

(b)the Health Board; and

(c)the contractor (or contractors) which referred the matter to dispute resolution.”; and

(e)paragraph 92(2) shall not apply.