National Health Service (Fund-Holding Practices) (Scotland) Regulations 1993
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1993/488 |
| Year | 1993 |
1993 No. 488 (S.53)
NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, SCOTLAND
The National Health Service (Fund-Holding Practices) (Scotland) Regulations 1993
Made 5th March 1993
Laid before Parliament 11th March 1993
Coming into force 1st April 1993
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 2(5), 87A(4), 87B(5), 87C(1) to (4), 105(7), 106(a) and 108(1) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 19781, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:
PART I
GENERAL
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Fund-Holding Practices) (Scotland) Regulations 1993 and shall come into force on 1st April 1993.
(2) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
“the Act” means the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978;
“allotted sum” has the meaning indicated by section 87B of the Act;
“application” means an application for the purposes of section 87A of the Act for recognition as a fund-holding practice;
“bank account” includes an account with a Building Society registered under the Building Societies Act 19862;
“former fund-holding practice” means a medical practitioner or group of medical practitioners who were formerly members of a fund-holding practice and who have now ceased to be members of such a practice because either—
(a) they have renounced recognition as a fund-holding practice in accordance with regulations 9 and 10; or
(b) recognition as a fund-holding practice has been removed from them in accordance with regulations 11 and 12 or 13,
whichever is appropriate;
“fund-holding account” means the bank account referred to in Schedule 2;
“fund-holding practice” means a recognised fund-holding practice;
“health service body” means any of the bodies specified in section 17A(2) of the Act3;
“health visitor” means a person whose name is included in Part 11 of the register of qualified nurses, midwives and health visitors prepared and maintained by the Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting in accordance with section 10 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 19794;
“nurse” means a person whose name is included in any part, other than parts 10 and 11, of the register of qualified nurses, midwives and health visitors prepared and maintained by the Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting in accordance with section 10 of the Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors Act 1979;
“medical list” means a list of medical practitioners prepared by a Health Board by virtue of Regulations under section 19(2)(a) of the Act;
“practice” means a number of medical practitioners acting either—
(a) as individuals;
(b) partly as individuals and partly in partnership; or
(c) in partnership with each other,
who make or propose to make, jointly, an application and “members of the practice” shall be construed accordingly;
“recognised fund-holding practice” shall be construed in accordance with section 87A of the Act;
“relevant Health Board” has the same meaning as in section 19(8) of the Act5except in the case to which regulation 2(3) applies where “the relevant Health Board” is the Health Board within whose area resides the largest number of the patients on the lists of the members of the practice;
“Family Health Services Authority” has the meaning indicated by section 10 of the National Health Service Act 19776.
(3) For the purposes of these Regulations, an application is made when it is received by the person to whom it is required to be made in accordance with regulation 2.
(4) For the purposes of these Regulations, any reference to a fund-holding practice renouncing recognition is a reference to the members of a fund-holding practice renouncing their status as a recognised fund-holding practice and “renunciation of recognition” shall be construed accordingly.
(5) For the purposes of these Regulations, any reference to a relevant Health Board removing recognition is a reference to that Board removing recognition from the members of a fund-holding practice and “removal of recognition” shall be construed accordingly.
(6) For the purposes of these Regulations, any reference to the rights and liabilities of members of a fund-holding practice is a reference to rights and liabilities incurred in connection with the application of the allotted sum and in particular to rights and liabilities under NHS contracts.
(7) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation bearing that number in these Regulations and any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph bearing that number in that regulation.
(8) In these Regulations any reference to the sending of a document is a reference to the sending of the document by post addressed, in the case of a medical practitioner, to him at the address of his practice premises which is included in the medical list of the relevant Health Board, and, in the case of the Secretary of State or a Health Board, to them at their principal office.
PART II
RECOGNITION
Application for recognition as a fund-holding practice
2.—(1) An application shall be made in writing on a form approved by the Secretary of State and shall be accompanied by such additional information, including documents and other writings, as the form states may be required to enable the Health Board to determine the application.
(2) An application shall be signed by each member of the practice making it and shall be sent to the relevant Health Board.
(3) Where at least one of the members of a practice wishing to make an application is on the medical list of a Family Health Services Authority, section 87A of the Act shall operate subject to the following modification, namely, at the end of subsection (1) there shall be added the words “except, if at least one of those practitioners is also providing general medical services in accordance with arrangements under section 29 of the National Health Service Act 19777, where more patients on the lists of members of the practice reside in England than in Scotland”.
Grant of recognition as a fund-holding practice
3. A Health Board shall not grant recognition as a fund-holding practice unless it is satisfied that the conditions specified in Schedule 1 to these Regulations are fulfilled.
Determination of application
4.—(1) The relevant Health Board shall—
(a)
(a) within the period of three months from its receipt of an application, determine whether to grant or refuse recognition as a fund-holding practice and if it determines to grant recognition, shall determine the date on which the grant of recognition is to have effect;
(b)
(b) within the period of fourteen days from making its determination send to each member of the practice notice of that determination including, where it determines to grant recognition, the date on which the grant of recognition is to have effect; and
(c)
(c) where the determination is for refusal of recognition, include in the notice a statement of the reasons for its determination, and inform each member of the practice of the right to appeal to the Secretary of State against the refusal.
(2) Where the relevant Health Board has failed, by the end of the period of three months specified in the preceding paragraph, to determine an application, the application shall be deemed to have been determined by refusal of recognition.
Appeals to the Secretary of State against refusal of recognition
5.—(1) The members of a practice may appeal to the Secretary of State against refusal by a relevant Health Board of recognition of the practice as a fund-holding practice.
(2) An appeal under this regulation shall be made by a notice signed by all the members of the practice and shall be sent to the Secretary of State within the period of one month beginning on the date on which notice of the determination of the relevant Health Board to refuse recognition was sent to the members of the practice or, in a case to which regulation 4(2) applies, on the date one month after the end of the period of three months specified in regulation 4(1).
(3) The Secretary of State may dispense with the signature requirement mentioned in paragraph (2) where it appears to him just and proper to do so.
(4) A notice of appeal shall contain a concise statement of the grounds of appeal on which the practice relies.
(5) The Secretary of State shall send a copy of the notice of appeal to the relevant Health Board.
(6) The Secretary of State may, if he is of the opinion that the appeal is of such a nature that it can properly be determined without an oral hearing, determine the appeal without an oral hearing.
(7) If the Secretary of State is of the opinion that an oral hearing is required he shall appoint one or more persons to hear the appeal and shall send to each member of the practice and to the relevant Health Board a notice of the date of the hearing and the time and place at which it is to be held.
(8) All members of the practice may attend the hearing and, the practice may be represented by a member of the practice appointed for the purpose by the practice and the relevant Health Board may be represented by a member or officer of the Board appointed for the purpose by the Health Board.
(9) Subject to paragraph (7), procedure at the hearing shall be as considered by the person...
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