HEALTH AND PERSONAL SOCIAL SERVICES Citation, commencement and interpretation 1 1 These Regulations may be cited as the General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 and shall come into operation on 1st April 1997. 2 In these Regulations, the “principal Regulations” means the Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1973 . Amendment to regulation 4A of the principal Regulations 2 In regulation 4A of the principal Regulations (local directory of family doctors) for paragraph (1)( h ) there shall be substituted— h any arrangements for the provision of any deputy notified to the Board under paragraph 14(4)( d ) of Schedule 1; and . Amendment of regulation 32 of the principal Regulations 3 In regulation 32 of the principal Regulations after sub-paragraph ( f ) there shall be inserted— ff allowances to maintain practice viability for essential medical practices in isolated rural areas; . Arrangements for the provision of deputies 4 1 Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations (terms of service for doctors) shall be amended as provided by paragraphs (2) to (5). 2 In paragraph 14 (deputies, assistants and partners), in sub-paragraph (4)— a in head ( a )(iv) for “a deputising service” there shall be substituted “an organisation providing deputy doctors”; b for heads ( b ) to ( k ) there shall be substituted— b in this sub-paragraph “organisation providing deputy doctors” means a person who provides deputies to doctors and includes a body which— i consists only of doctors who are included in the medical list and who arrange to act as deputies to each other; and ii which keeps separate accounts in relation to such arrangements; c before entering into arrangements with an organisation providing deputy doctors for the provision of any deputy, a doctor shall obtain the written agreement of the organisation that any doctor it provides to him— i will not be subject to a declaration either under paragraph 3( c ) of Schedule 11 to the Order or under any corresponding provision in force in England and Wales or Scotland that he is not fit to be engaged in any capacity in the provision of general medical services; ii will not be suspended by direction of the Tribunal, other than in a case falling within paragraph 8B(3) of Schedule 11 to the Order; and iii will (unless he is a trainee general practitioner acting in the place of and under the supervision of the doctor responsible for his training) be suitably experienced within the meaning of Article 8 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (other than by virtue of being a restricted services principal) or will have the acquired right specified in regulation 5(1)( d ) of the Vocational Training for General Medical Practice (European Requirements) Regulations 1994 ; and take all reasonable steps to satisfy himself that the service provided by the organisation (including its monitoring arrangements) will be adequate and appropriate having regard in particular to the interests of the doctor’s patients; d a doctor shall notify the Board of any arrangements he makes with an organisation providing deputy doctors; e a doctor shall from time to time and at any time when there are grounds for doing so, take reasonable steps to satisfy himself that an organisation providing deputy doctors with which he has entered into arrangements for the provision of any deputy— i continues to comply with the agreement referred to in head ( c ) and; ii continues to provide a service which is adequate and appropriate as mentioned in that head; f subject to head ( g ), if the Board so requests, a doctor shall furnish it with evidence that such an organisation is continuing— i to comply with the agreement mentioned in head ( c ) or, as the case may be; ii to provide a service which is adequate and appropriate as mentioned in that head; g a Board shall not make a request for evidence under head ( f ) unless— i it has reasonable grounds for believing that the organisation providing deputy doctors is not providing a service which is adequate and appropriate as mentioned in head ( c ), and ii it has consulted the Local Medical Committee; h subject to head (i), where in response to a request for evidence under head ( f )(ii), the Board continues to have reasonable grounds for believing that the organisation providing deputy doctors is not providing a service which is adequate and appropriate as mentioned in head ( c ), it shall give notice (in this paragraph referred to as a “remedial notice”) to the doctor specifying— i the grounds for its concern; ii the remedial action which it considers necessary; and iii the time within which such action must be taken; i a Board shall not issue a remedial notice under head ( h ) without first consulting the Local Medical Committee; j where a Board issues a remedial notice under head ( h ), it shall also send a copy of that notice to any other doctor who has made arrangements with the same organisation; k where it appears to the Board that an organisation providing deputy doctors with which a doctor has made arrangements for the provision of a deputy— i is not complying with the agreement referred to in head ( c ); or ii has not taken the action specified in a remedial notice issued under head ( h ) within the time specified in that notice, or that a doctor’s arrangement with such an organisation is putting the doctor’s patients at risk, it may give notice to the doctor requiring him to bring his arrangement with that organisation to an end either immediately or within such time as is stated in the notice. . 3 In paragraph 14(10) (which relates to the responsibility of doctors for their deputies)— a for “deputising service” where it first occurs, there shall be substituted “organisation of the type mentioned in sub-paragraph (4)( b ) with which he has entered into an arrangement in accordance with that sub-paragraph”; and b for “deputising service” in the second place it occurs there shall be substituted “that organisation”. 4 For paragraph 14A (Employees) there shall be substituted the following paragraph— 14A 1 A doctor shall not engage another doctor as a deputy, or employ one as an assistant unless the other doctor— a is suitably experienced within the meaning of Article 8 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 (other than by virtue of being a restricted services principal); or b has the acquired right specified in regulation 5(1)( d ) of the Vocational Training for General Medical Practice (European Requirements) Regulations 1994; or c is a trainee general practitioner acting in the place of and under the supervision of the doctor responsible for his training. . 5 In paragraph 20 (annual reports), in sub-paragraph (2)( c ) the words “health promotion or” shall be omitted. 5 In Schedule 1I to the principal Regulations (information to be provided in annual reports) , in paragraph 4— a at the end of the sub-paragraph ( a ) the word “and” shall be inserted; b at the end of sub-paragraph ( b ) the word “and” shall be omitted; c sub-paragraph ( c ) shall be omitted. Substitution of Schedule 5 to the principal Regulations 6 For Schedule 5 to the principal Regulations (constitution of the medical and pharmaceutical committees) there shall be substituted the new Schedule 5 set out in the Schedule. Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services on J. R. Kearney Assistant Secretary 28th March 1997. Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on V. N. Hewitt Assistant Secretary 28th March 1997.