The National Health Service (Personal Medical Services Agreements) Regulations 2004

Out of hours arrangements

1.—(1) In this Schedule—

“accredited service provider” has the same meaning as in the Out of Hours Regulations;

“normal hours” means the period encompassing the days and times of day specified in an agreement as being the days on which, and the times at which, the contractor normally performs the medical services which the contractor wishes to make an out of hours arrangement in respect of;

“out of hours arrangement” means an arrangement under sub-paragraph (2) or (3);

“out of hours period”—

“Out of Hours Regulations” means the National Health Service (Out of Hours Medical Services) and National Health Service (General Medical Services) Amendment Regulations 2002(1).

(2) A contractor which provides—

(a)out of hours services pursuant to regulation 20; and

(b)out of hours services only to patients which it provides essential services to under the agreement,

may, with the approval of the relevant body, make an arrangement under which any of its liabilities and obligations under the agreement in respect of those services are transferred to an accredited service provider during part or all of the out of hours period as if regulations 1 to 11 of the Out of Hours Regulations were still in force as modified in accordance with sub-paragraph (8).

(3) A contractor falling within sub-paragraph (2) may also, with the approval of the relevant body, make an arrangement in respect of other services which it provides under the agreement under which any of its liabilities and obligations under the agreement in respect of those services are transferred to an accredited service provider during part or all of the out of hours period as if regulations 1 to 11 of the Out of Hours Regulations were still in force as modified in accordance with sub-paragraph (8).

(4) An out of hours arrangement made pursuant to sub-paragraph (2) or (3) shall cease to have effect on 1st January 2005 (if it has not ceased to have effect before that date).

(5) An out of hours arrangement made in accordance with sub-paragraph (2) or (3) shall, for so long as it continues, or is not suspended under paragraph 6(1), relieve the contractor of—

(a)its obligations to provide the services in respect of which the out of hours arrangement has been made; and

(b)all liabilities under the agreement in respect of those services.

(6) A contractor may make more than one out of hours arrangement, for example with different accredited service providers and in respect of different patients, different times and different parts of its practice area.

(7) Nothing in this paragraph prevents a contractor from retaining or resuming its obligations in relation to named patients.

(8) The modifications referred to in sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) are—

(a)as if out of hours period had the meaning given in sub-paragraph (1);

(b)as if the requirements relating to an assessing authority in regulation 4(5) to (8) did not apply in cases where, in the opinion of the accrediting authority, it was appropriate and safe to dispense with them;

(c)as if the reference to a medical practitioner in regulation 11(2)(c) was a reference to a contractor;

(d)as if the reference to section 44 in regulation 11(2)(d) was to section 45A of the Act(2); and

(e)as if the reference to a medical list or supplementary list in paragraph 7 of the Schedule was to a medical performers list and the words “or he is named in an agreement under section 2 of the 1997 Act as a performer of personal medical services” were omitted.