Northern Ireland Orders in Council

(a) personal medical services are provided (otherwise than by the Board); or

(b) personal dental services are provided (otherwise than by the Board).

    (2) An agreement made under this Article - 

(a) may not combine arrangements for the provision of personal medical services with arrangements for the provision of personal dental services; but

(b) may include arrangements for the provision of health services - 


(i) which are not personal medical services or personal dental services; but

(ii) which may be provided under this Part.

    (3) Except to such extent as may be prescribed - 

(a) a patient for whom personal medical services are provided in accordance with an agreement made under this Article is not to count as a person for whom arrangements must be made by the Health and Social Services Board concerned under Article 56;

(b) a patient for whom personal dental services are provided under an agreement made under this Article is not to count as a person for whom arrangements must be made by the Health and Social Services Board concerned under Article 61.

    (4) This Order has effect, in relation to personal medical services or personal dental services provided under an agreement made under this Article, as if those services were provided as a result of the delegation by the Department (by directions given under Article 17) of functions of the Department under this Part.

    (5) The functions of a Health and Social Services Board in relation to an agreement made under this Article are primary functions of the Board for the purposes of Article 9 of the 1991 Order.

    (6) For the purposes of this Article - 

"personal medical services" means medical services of a kind that may be provided by a general medical practitioner in accordance with arrangements made under Part VI; and

"personal dental services" means dental services of a kind that may be provided by a general dental practitioner in accordance with arrangements made under Part VI.

(a) include provision for participants other than Health and Social Services Boards to withdraw from Article 15B arrangements if they wish to do so;

(b) impose conditions (including conditions as to qualifications and experience) to be satisfied by medical practitioners performing personal medical services, and dental practitioners performing personal dental services, in accordance with Article 15B arrangements.

In sub-paragraph (b) "practitioner" does not include a practitioner who is undergoing training of a prescribed description.

    (3) The regulations may, in particular - 

(a) provide that Article 15B arrangements may be made only in prescribed circumstances;

(b) provide that Article 15B arrangements may be made only in prescribed areas;

(c) provide that only prescribed services, or prescribed categories of service, may be provided in accordance with Article 15B arrangements;

(d) require details of Article 15B arrangements to be published;

(e) make provision with respect to the variation and termination of Article 15B arrangements;

(f) prevent (except in such circumstances and to such extent as may be prescribed) a medical practitioner who performs personal medical services in accordance with Article 15B arrangements from providing general medical services;

(g) make provision with respect to medical lists, including provision for preferential treatment for medical practitioners;

(h) provide for parties to Article 15B arrangements to be treated, in such circumstances and to such extent as may be prescribed, as health services bodies for the purposes of Article 8 of the 1991 Order;

(i) provide for directions, as to payments, made under Article 8(8) of the 1991 Order (as it has effect as a result of regulations made by virtue of sub-paragraph (h)) to be enforceable in a county court (if the court so orders) as if they were judgments or orders of that court;

(j) authorise Health and Social Services Boards to make payments of financial assistance for prescribed categories of preparatory work undertaken - 


(i) in connection with preparing proposals for Article 15B arrangements; or

(ii) in preparation for the provision of services under proposed Article 15B arrangements.

    (4) The regulations must include provision for a medical practitioner who - 

(a) has provided or performed personal medical services in accordance with Article 15B arrangements; and

(b) in contemplation of doing so, gave up fund-holding status,

to be allowed to return immediately to fund-holding status on satisfying the Department that, if he were granted that status, he would be able to fulfil the conditions for the time being in force for continuing to have it.

For the purposes of this paragraph "fund-holding status" has such meaning as may be prescribed.

    (5) The Department must - 

(a) consider whether Article 15B arrangements are likely to have an adverse effect on the distribution of medical practitioners providing general medical services or performing personal medical services in Northern Ireland;

(b) if it thinks that the arrangements are likely to have that effect, consider whether it is necessary to include in the regulations provisions designed to secure that, so far as is possible, the arrangements do not have that effect; and

(c) if it thinks that it is necessary, include such provisions in the regulations.

    (6) Regulations which impose conditions on persons performing personal medical services or persons performing personal dental services (whether made by virtue of paragraph (2)(b) or otherwise) may, in particular, include provision of a kind that may be made by regulations under Article 8 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1978.

    (7) Regulations made by virtue of paragraph (3)(g) may, in particular, include provision - 

(a) requiring (except in prescribed circumstances) Health and Social Services Boards to remove from their medical lists persons who are performing personal medical services in accordance with Article 15B arrangements;

(b) conferring a right to transfer to medical lists on persons who have ceased to perform such services;

(c) that any provision in relation to medical lists made by or under any statutory provision is not to apply;

(d) as to conditions to be attached to entries in medical lists;

(e) conferring powers of disqualification on the Tribunal.".

(a) the consent of the practitioner concerned; and

(b) any limit on the number of patients to be accepted by any practitioner.

    (2) In particular the regulations - 

(a) shall prescribe the procedure for choosing a practitioner;

(b) may prescribe a limit on the number of patients to be accepted by a medical practitioner who undertakes to provide general medical services under Part VI; and

(c) shall provide for the distribution among medical practitioners of persons who have indicated a wish to obtain primary medical services but - 


(i) have been refused by the medical practitioner of their choice; or

(ii) have not chosen a medical practitioner.

    (3) The Department may give directions imposing a limit on the number of patients to be accepted by a medical practitioner who performs personal medical services in accordance with Article 15B arrangements.

    (4) Any such directions may make different provision for different cases or descriptions of case.

    (5) In this Article "primary medical services" means medical services which are - 

(a) provided, in accordance with Article 15B arrangements, as personal medical services; or

(b) provided under Part VI as general medical services.".

(a) provided, in accordance with Article 15B arrangements, as personal dental services; or

(b) provided under Part VI as general dental services.".

(a) a Part VI practitioner who, in connection with any obligation of his to provide general medical services, enters into arrangements under which a Part II practitioner deputises, or is engaged to deputise, for him; or

(b) a Part VI practitioner who enters into arrangements under which he deputises, or is engaged to deputise, for a Part II practitioner, in connection with that practitioner's obligation to perform personal medical services in accordance with Article 15B arrangements.

    (2) The regulations may, in particular - 

(a) modify any liabilities or obligations which would otherwise be applicable by virtue of this Part;

(b) apply (with or without modifications) any provision made by or under this Part (including any provision so made by virtue of Article 10 of the Health and Medicines (Northern Ireland) Order 1988).

    (3) In paragraph (1) - 

"Part II practitioner" means a medical practitioner who performs personal medical services in accordance with Article 15B arrangements; and

"Part VI practitioner" means a medical practitioner who provides general medical services.".

(a) provide for the amount or the maximum amount of any charge authorised by the regulations to be varied in prescribed circumstances; or

(b) give power to direct that the charge is not to be payable.

    (5) If, under a contract or arrangement, a patient receives - 

(a) services for which a charge is payable under paragraph 1(a)(k), and

(b) treatment for which a charge is payable under the regulations,

the total charge for those services and that treatment is not to exceed such sum as may be prescribed.

    (6) No charge is to be made under the regulations in respect of treatment provided for any person who, at the time of the making of the contract or arrangement under which the treatment is provided - 

(a) was under 18;

(b) was under 19 and receiving qualifying full-time education;

(c) was pregnant; or

(d) had given birth within the previous twelve months.

    (7) In sub-paragraph (6)(b) "qualifying full-time education" has the same meaning as in paragraph 2A(3).

    (8) The regulations may provide, with respect to any exemption under sub-paragraph (6), that it is to be a condition of the exemption that - 

(a) a declaration of the prescribed kind is made in the prescribed form or manner; or

(b) a certificate of the prescribed kind is supplied in the prescribed form or manner.".

(a) give directions to a Health and Social Services Board requiring it to arrange for the provision to persons in its area of additional pharmaceutical services; or

(b) by giving directions to a Health and Social Services Board authorise it to arrange for such provision if it wishes to do so.

    (2) Directions under this Article may make different provision in relation to different services specified in the directions.

    (3) The Department must publish any directions under this Article in the Drug Tariff or in such other manner as it thinks appropriate.

    (4) In this Article - 

"additional pharmaceutical services", in relation to directions, means such services (of a kind that do not fall within Article 63) as may be specified in the directions; and

"Drug Tariff" means the Drug Tariff published under regulation 40 of the Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1973 or under any corresponding provision replacing, or otherwise derived from, that regulation.".

(a) to include, in the terms on which the arrangements are made, such terms as may be specified in the directions;

(b) to impose, on any person providing a service in accordance with the arrangements, such conditions as may be so specified.

    (2) The arrangements must secure that any service to which they apply is provided only by a person whose name is included in a pharmaceutical list.

    (3) Different arrangements may be made with respect to - 

(a) the provision of the same service by the same person but in different circumstances; or

(b) the provision of the same service by different persons.

    (4) A Health and Social Services Board must provide details of proposed arrangements (including the remuneration to be offered for the provision of services) to any person who asks for them.

    (5) After making any arrangements, a Health and Social Services Board must publish, in such manner as the Department may direct, such details of the arrangements as the Department may direct.

    (6) In this Article, "pharmaceutical list" means, subject to any provision of the directions in question, a list - 

(a) published by the Health and Social Services Board concerned, or by any other Health and Social Services Board, in accordance with regulations made under Article 63(2A)(a); or

(b) published by any body in accordance with regulations made under section 27(2)(a) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 or section 42(2)(a) of the National Health Service Act 1977.".

(a) by a person on an ophthalmic list, or

(b) by a person on a pharmaceutical list,

of goods or services that it reasonably requires for the purposes of functions which it is exercising under Part II of the principal Order.

    (2) Any such arrangement is to be treated as an HSS contract for the purposes of Article 8 (other than paragraphs (5) and (7)).

    (3) In this Article - 

"ophthalmic list" means a list published in accordance with regulations made under - 

(a) Article 62(2)(a) of the principal Order;

(b) section 39(a) of the National Health Service Act 1977; or

(c) section 26(2)(a) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978;

"pharmaceutical list" means a list published in accordance with regulations made under - 

(a) Article 63(2A)(a) of the principal Order;

(b) section 42(2)(a) of the National Health Service Act 1977; or

(c) section 27(2) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978.".