Vocational Training for General Medical Practice (European Requirements) Regulations 1994
1994 No. 3130
MEDICAL PROFESSION
NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, ENGLAND AND WALES
NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, SCOTLAND
The Vocational Training for General Medical Practice (European Requirements) Regulations 1994
Made 8th December 1994
Laid before Parliament 9th December 1994
Coming into force 1st January 1995
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19721and, as respects England and Wales, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 15(1), 29, 32 and 126(4) of the National Health Service Act 19772, and the Secretary of State concerned with health in Scotland, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 19, 22 and 105(7) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 19783, and in each case in exercise of all other powers so enabling them, hereby make the following Regulations:—
PART I
GENERAL
Citation, commencement and extent
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Vocational Training for General Medical Practice (European Requirements) Regulations 1994 and shall come into force on 1st January 1995.
(2) This Part, Part II, and the Schedule extend to the whole of the United Kingdom.
(3) Part III and regulations 11(3) and 14 extend to England and Wales and to Scotland, but not to Northern Ireland.
(4) Regulations 11(1) and 12 extend to England and Wales only.
(5) Regulations 11(2) and 13 extend to Scotland only.
Interpretation
2. In these Regulations—
“the 1974 Regulations” means the National Health Service (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 19744,
“the 1979 Regulations” means the National Health Service (Vocational Training) Regulations 19795,
“the 1979 Northern Ireland Regulations” means the Medical Practitioners (Vocational Training) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 19796,
“the 1980 Regulations” means the National Health Service (Vocational Training) (Scotland) Regulations 19807,
“the 1992 Regulations” means the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 19928,
“certificate of acquired rights” means a certificate issued under article 36(4) of the Medical Directive, to the effect that its holder has an acquired right to practise as a general medical practitioner under the national social security scheme of the issuing State without a vocational training certificate,
“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993,
“EEA State” means a State which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement but until the EEA Agreement comes into force in relation to Liechtenstein does not include the State of Leichtenstein,
“FHSA” means Family Health Services Authority,
“JCPTGP” means the Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice,
“Medical Directive” means Council Directive 93/16/EECof 5 April 1993 to facilitate the free movement of doctors and the mutual recognition of their diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications9, certain provisions of which (as they had effect on the date these Regulations were made) are set out in the Schedule to those Regulations,
“vocational training certificate” means a diploma, certificate or other evidence of formal qualifications awarded on completion of a course of specific training in general medical practice and referred to in article 30 of the Medical Directive.
PART II
SPECIFIC TRAINING IN GENERAL MEDICAL PRACTICE
Competent Authority
3.—(1) The JCPTGP is the competent authority in the United Kingdom for all the purposes of Title IV of the Medical Directive (which relates to specific training in general medical practice) except as mentioned in paragraph (2).
(2) For the purposes of article 37 of the Medical Directive (recognition of certificates), the General Medical Council10is responsible for recognising vocational training certificates and certificates of acquired rights issued in EEA States other than the United Kingdom.
Vocational training certificate
4. For the purposes of article 30 of the Medical Directive (which requires member States to institute specific training in general medical practice), the vocational training certificates issued in the United Kingdom are —
(a) a certificate of prescribed experience issued by the JCPTGP in connection with training completed after 31st December 1994 under —
(i) regulation 6 (certificate of prescribed experience) or 10 (procedure on appeal) of the 1979 Regulations or of the 1980 Regulations, or
(ii) regulation 5 (certificate of prescribed experience) or 9 (procedure on appeal) of the 1979 Northern Ireland Regulations;
(b) a certificate of equivalent experience, annotated to the effect that the medical experience in respect of which the certificate was issued complied with all the requirements of the Medical Directive relating to specific training in general medical practice, issued by the JCPTGP in connection with training completed after 31st December 1994 under —
(i) regulation 7 (certificate of equivalent experience) or 10 (procedure on appeal) of the 1979 Regulations or of the 1980 Regulations, or
(ii) regulation 6 (certificate of equivalent experience) or 9 (procedure on appeal) of the 1979 Northern Ireland Regulations.
Acquired rights
5.—(1) For the purposes of article 36(2) of the Medical Directive (which requires each member State to specify the acquired rights that it recognises for the purpose of exercising general medical practice under its national social security scheme without a vocational training certificate), a doctor has an acquired right to practise as a general medical practitioner providing general medical services11in the United Kingdom if —
(a)
(a) on 31st December 1994 his name was included in a medical list kept by an FHSA or in any corresponding list kept by a Health Board in Scotland or by the Northern Ireland Central Services Agency for the Health and Social Services in Northern Ireland;
(b)
(b) on 31st December 1994 he was suitably experienced within the meaning of section 31 of the National Health Service Act 197712, section 21 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, or Article 8(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 197813(other than by virtue of —
(i) regulation 8(1)(e) of the 1979 or of the 1980 Regulations14or regulation 7(1)(d) of the 1979 Northern Ireland Regulations (exemption for applications to be a restricted services principal), or
(ii) regulation 8(1)(h) of the 1979 or of the 1980 Regulations15or regulation 7(1)(g) of the 1979 Northern Ireland Regulations16(exemption for doctors who are EC nationals)),
even if on that date he had yet to obtain a certificate of prescribed or of equivalent experience under any of those Regulations;
(c)
(c) on 31st December 1994 he was established in the United Kingdom by virtue of a qualification in medicine awarded in an EEA State other than the United Kingdom which had in his case to be recognised in the United Kingdom by virtue of the Medical Directive (whether or not as read with the EEA Agreement), or by virtue of any enforceable Community right, as entitling him to be registered, or to practise as if he were registered, under section 3 of the Medical Act 198317as a fully registered medical practitioner; or
(d)
(d) (subject to paragraph (2)) on at least 10 days in the period of 4 years ending with 31st December 1994, or on at least 40 days in the period of 10 years ending with that date, he had —
(i) been engaged as a deputy by, or provided as a deputy to, a doctor whose name was included in the medical list of an FHSA or in any corresponding list kept by a Health Board in Scotland or by the Northern Ireland Central Services Agency for the Health and Social Services in Northern Ireland, or
(ii) been employed as an assistant (other than as a trainee general practitioner) by such a doctor.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(d), engagement or provision as a deputy for a period of less than 24 hours beginning before but ending after midnight counts as engagement or provision on the second day only.
(3) The JCPTGP shall, if a doctor so requests in writing, issue a certificate of acquired rights to him if it is satisfied that he has an acquired right specified in paragraph (1).
(4) It is hereby declared that —
(a)
(a) a restricted services principal is not entitled to practise otherwise than in accordance with the restriction which applies in his case merely because he has the acquired right specified in paragraph (1)(a); and
(b)
(b) a doctor is not entitled to be considered as suitably experienced for the purposes of section 31 of the National Health Service Act 1977, section 21 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978, or Article 8(2) of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 merely because he has the acquired right specified in paragraph (1)(d).
(5) In this regulation, “medical list” and “restricted services principal” mean the same as in the 1974 Regulations, the 1992 Regulations or the Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 197318, as the case may be.
PART III
AMENDMENT OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING REGULATIONS
Interpretation of the 1979 Regulations and of the 1980 Regulations
6. In regulation 2(1) of the 1979 Regulations and of the 1980 Regulations (interpretation), after the definition of “the Joint Committee” insert—
““Medical Directive” means Council Directive 93/16/EECof 5 April 1993 to facilitate the free movement of doctors and the mutual recognition of their...
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