The General Medical Services and Personal Medical Services Transitional and Consequential Provisions Order 2004

Cases where no decision has been made before the relevant date as to whether disciplinary action should be taken (regulation 4 of the Service Committees Regulations)

95.—(1) Where, before the relevant date, or on or after the relevant date in respect of a matter that occurred before the relevant date, a Primary Care Trust receives, or has received, information that could amount to an allegation that a doctor had failed to comply with his terms of service and—

(a) that Trust, or its reference committee (as the case may be), has not taken a final decision pursuant to regulation 4(1) before the relevant date as to whether it will take no action or take one or both of the courses of action set out in regulation 4(2); and

(b) any time limit specified in regulation 6 has not expired,

paragraph (2) shall apply.

(2) Where this paragraph applies, the Primary Care Trust shall—

(a) if it is the appropriate Primary Care Trust, continue to be the appropriate Primary Care Trust for the purposes of the Service Committees Regulations, and consider and take such action as it sees fit pursuant to the Service Committees Regulations, subject to article 98, as if the amendments to regulations 2 to 8 and Schedules 2 and 4 had not taken effect; or

(b) if it is not the appropriate Primary Care Trust, forward the information to that Trust as soon as is reasonably practicable, and that Trust shall consider the information received and take such action as it sees fit pursuant to the Service Committees Regulations, subject to the time limits specified in the Service Committees Regulations, and article 98, as if the amendments to regulations 2 to 8 and Schedules 2 and 4 had not taken effect.

(3) If the appropriate Primary Care Trust, or its reference committee, decides, pursuant to paragraph (2)(a) or (b), to refer the matter to the discipline committee of another Primary Care Trust (B) in accordance with regulation 4(2)(a) or (7)—

(a) that Primary Care Trust (B) shall investigate the matter and report to the appropriate Primary Care Trust as if the amendments to regulations 2 to 8 and Schedules 2 and 4 had not taken effect; and

(b) the appropriate Primary Care Trust shall be entitled, subject to article 98, to take any action it could have taken pursuant to the Service Committees Regulations as if those amendments had not taken effect.