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

[F1Supply of medicines etc. by contractors providing out of hours services

11A.—(1) In this paragraph—

“the Charges Regulations” means the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Wales) Regulations 2001;

“complete course” means the course of treatment appropriate to the patient’s condition, being the same as the amount that would have been prescribed if the patient had been seen during core hours;

“necessary drugs, medicines and appliances” means those drugs, medicines and appliances which the patient requires and for which, in the reasonable opinion of the contractor, and in the light of the patient’s medical condition, it would not be reasonable in all the circumstances for the patient to wait until such time as he or she could obtain them during core hours;

“out of hours performer” means a prescriber, a person acting in accordance with a Patient Group Direction or any other health professional employed or engaged by the contractor who can lawfully supply a drug, medicine or appliance, who is performing out of hours services under the contract;

“Patient Group Direction” has the same meaning as in the Prescription Only Medicines (Human Use) Order 1997; and

“supply form” means a form provided by a Local Health Board and completed by or on behalf of the contractor for the purpose of recording the provision of drugs, medicines or appliances to a patient during the out of hours period.

(2) Where a contractor whose contract includes the provision of out of hours services has agreed with the Local Health Board that its contract should also include the supply of necessary drugs, medicines and appliances to patients at the time that it is providing them with out of hours services, the contractor shall comply with the requirements in sub-paragraphs (3) to (5).

(3) The contractor shall ensure that an out of hours performer—

(a)only supplies necessary drugs, medicines and appliances;

(b)supplies the complete course of the necessary medicine or drug required to treat the patient; and

(c)does not supply—

(i)drugs, medicines or appliances which he or she could not lawfully supply,

(ii)appliances which are not listed in Part IX of the Drug Tariff,

(iii)restricted availability appliances, except where the patient is a person, or it is for a purpose, specified in the Drug Tariff, or

(iv)a drug, medicine or other substance listed in Schedule 1 to the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs etc) (Wales) Regulations 2004, or a drug, medicine or other substance listed in Schedule 2 to those Regulations other than in the circumstances specified in that Schedule.

(4) The out of hours performer shall record on a separate supply form for each patient any drugs, medicines or appliances supplied to the patient provided that a single supply form may be completed where the out of hours performer supplies necessary drugs, medicines or appliances to two or more persons in a school or other institution in which at least 20 persons normally reside, when the out of hours performer may write on the supply form the name of the school or institution rather than the name of the individual patient.

(5) The out of hours performer shall—

(a)ask any person who makes a declaration that the patient does not have to pay the charges, specified in or payable by virtue of regulation 4(1) of the Charges Regulations, by virtue of either—

(i)entitlement to exemption under regulation 8(1) of the Charges Regulations, or

(ii)entitlement to remission of charges under regulation 3 of the National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 1988,

to produce satisfactory evidence of such entitlement, unless the declaration is in respect of entitlement to exemption by virtue of regulation 8(1) of the Charges Regulations, and at the time of the declaration the out of hours performer already has such evidence available to him or her; and

(b)if no satisfactory evidence is produced to him or her (and, where it is relevant, none is already available to him or her as mentioned in paragraph (a)), endorse the supply form to that effect.

(6) Subject to paragraph (7), nothing in this paragraph shall prevent an out of hours performer supplying a Scheduled drug or a restricted availability appliance in the course of treating a patient under a private arrangement.

(7) The provisions of regulation 24 (fees and charges) apply in respect of the supply of necessary drugs, medicines and appliances as they apply in respect of prescriptions for drugs, medicines and appliances. ]