The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts and Personal Medical Services Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2019
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2019/1137 |
| Year | 2019 |
2019 No. 1137
National Health Service, England
The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts and Personal Medical Services Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2019
Made 17th July 2019
Laid before Parliament 18th July 2019
Coming into force 1st October 2019
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 85(1), 89(1) and (2)(a), 94(1) and (3)(a) and 272(7) and (8) of the National Health Service Act 20061, makes the following Regulations.
PART 1
General
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts and Personal Medical Services Agreements) (Amendment) Regulations 2019.
(2) They come into force on 1st October 2019.
(3) In these Regulations—
(a)
(a) “the GMS Contracts Regulations” means the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 20152; and
(b)
(b) “the PMS Agreements Regulations” means the National Health Service (Personal Medical Services Agreements) Regulations 20153.
PART 2
Amendment of the GMS Contracts Regulations
Amendment of regulation 3 of the GMS Contracts Regulations
2. In regulation 3 of the GMS Contracts Regulations (interpretation)4—
(a) in the definition of “additional services” omit paragraph (b);
(b) for the definition of “contraceptive services”, substitute—
““contraceptive services” means the following services—
(a) the giving of advice about the full range of contraceptive methods;
(b) where appropriate, the medical examination of patients seeking such advice;
(c) the treatment of such patients for contraceptive purposes and the prescribing of contraceptive substances and appliances (excluding the fitting and implanting of intrauterine devices and implants);
(d) the giving of advice about emergency contraception and, where appropriate, the supplying or prescribing of emergency hormonal contraception;
(e) the giving of advice and referral in cases of unplanned pregnancy including advice about the availability of free pregnancy testing in the contractor’s practice area;
(f) the giving of initial advice about sexual health promotion and sexually transmitted infections; and
(g) the referral as necessary to specialist sexual health services, including tests for sexually transmitted infections;”;
(c) after the definition of “practice premises” insert—
““practice website” means any website through which the contractor advertises the primary medical services it provides;”;
(d) after the definition of “primary medical services” insert—
““private services” means the provision of any treatment which would amount to primary medical services if it were provided under or by virtue of a contract or agreement to which the provisions of Part 4 of the Act apply;”; and
(e) for the definition of “repeatable prescription”, substitute—
““repeatable prescription” means—
(a) a form provided by the Board, a local authority or Secretary of State for the purpose of ordering a drug, medicine or appliance which is in the format required by the NHS Business Services Authority and which—
(i) is issued, or is to be issued, by a repeatable prescriber to enable a chemist or person providing dispensing services to receive payment for the provision of repeat dispensing services,
(ii) indicates, or is to indicate, that the drug, medicine or appliance ordered may be provided more than once, and
(iii) specifies, or is to specify, the number of occasions on which the drug, medicine or appliance may be provided; or
(b) in the case of an electronic prescription to which regulation 57 applies, data created in an electronic form for the purpose of ordering a drug, medicine or appliance, which—
(i) is signed, or is to be signed, with a prescriber’s advanced electronic signature,
(ii) is transmitted, or is to be transmitted, as an electronic communication to a nominated dispenser or via an information hub by the Electronic Prescription Service, and
(iii) indicates, or is to indicate, that the drug, medicine or appliance ordered may be provided more than once and specifies, or is to specify, the number of occasions on which the drug, medicine or appliance may be provided;”.
Amendment of regulation 17 of the GMS Contracts Regulations
3. In regulation 17 of the GMS Contracts Regulations (essential services), for paragraph (6) substitute—
“6 The services described in this paragraph are the provision of appropriate ongoing treatment and care to all of the contractor’s registered patients and temporary residents taking into account their specific needs including—
(a) advice in connection with the patient’s health and relevant health promotion advice; and
(b) the referral of a patient for services under the Act,
together with the provision of contraceptive services.”.
Amendment of regulation 20 of the GMS Contracts Regulations
4. In regulation 20 of the GMS Contracts Regulations (services: general), after paragraph (5) insert—
“6 A contract must specify that where the contractor proposes to provide private services in addition to primary medical services, to persons other than its patients the provision must take place—
(a) outside of the hours the contractor has agreed to provide primary medical services; and
(b) on no part of any practice premises in respect of which the Board makes any payments pursuant to the National Health Service (General Medical Services - Premises Costs) Directions 20135save where the private services are those specified in regulation 24(2B).”.
Amendment of regulation 24 of the GMS Contracts Regulations
5. In regulation 24 of the GMS Contracts Regulations (fees and charges), after paragraph (2) insert—
“2A The contractor must not, either itself or through any other person, demand or accept from any of its patients a fee or other remuneration for its own benefit or for the benefit of another person, for the completion, in relation to the patient’s mental health, of—
(a) a mental health evidence form; or
(b) any examination of the patient or of the patient’s medical record in order to complete the form,
the purpose of which is to assist creditors in deciding what action to take where the debtor has a mental health problem.
2B The contractor must not, either itself or through any other person, demand or accept from anyone who is not a patient of the contractor, a fee or other remuneration for its own benefit or for the benefit of another person, for either of the following services provided on practice premises to which regulation 20(6)(b) applies, unless those services are provided outside of core hours—
(a) for treatment consisting of an immunisation for which the contractor receives no remuneration from the Board when provided to its patients and which is requested in connection with travel abroad; or
(b) for prescribing or providing drugs or medicines for malaria chemoprophylaxis.”.
Amendment of regulation 55 of the GMS Contracts Regulations
6. In regulation 55 of the GMS Contracts Regulations (prescribing: general), for paragraph (2) substitute—
“2 In regulations 56, 57 and 59 to 63, a reference to “drugs” includes contraceptive substances and a reference to “appliances” includes contraceptive appliances.”
Insertion of new regulation 60A of the GMS Contracts Regulations
7. After regulation 60 of the GMS Contracts Regulations (repeatable prescriptions), insert—
“Electronic repeat dispensing services
60A.—(1) Subject to regulations 56, 57, 59 and 60(2)(b) to (4), where a prescriber orders a drug, medicine or appliance by means of an electronic repeatable prescription, the prescriber must issue the prescription in a format appropriate for electronic repeat dispensing services where—
(a)
(a) it is clinically appropriate to do so for that patient on that occasion; and
(b)
(b) the patient consents.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)—
“electronic repeat dispensing services” means pharmaceutical services or local pharmaceutical services which involve the provision of drugs, medicines or appliances by a nominated dispenser in accordance with an electronic repeatable prescription which has a specified number of identical issues of drugs, medicines or appliances associated with it for dispensation over a period of time up to but not exceeding 12 months.”.”
Amendment of regulation 71 of the GMS Contracts Regulations
8. In regulation 71 of the GMS Contracts Regulations (patient online services)6—
(a) for paragraph (3) substitute—
“3 A contractor must when complying with the requirements in paragraph (1)(a)—
(a) ensure that a minimum of 25% of its appointments per day during core hours are made available for online booking, whether or not those appointments are booked online, by telephone or in person, to include all appointments which must be made available for direct booking by NHS 1117in accordance with paragraph 11B of Part 1 of Schedule 3 to these Regulations8; and
(b) consider whether it is necessary, in order to meet the needs of its registered patients, to increase the proportion of appointments which are available for its registered patients to book online and, if so, increase that number.
3A In the case of appointments required to be made available for direct booking by NHS 111, in accordance with paragraph 11B of Part 1 of Schedule 3 to these Regulations, those appointments can be released to be...
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