# The General Ophthalmic Services Contracts Regulations 2008, Paragraph 50: Termination and the NHS dispute resolution procedure


(1) Where the PCT is entitled to serve notice on the contractor terminating the contract pursuant to any provision of this Schedule, the PCT shall, in the notice served on the contractor pursuant to those provisions, specify a date on which the contract terminates, that is not less than 28 days after the date on which the PCT has served that notice on the contractor, unless sub-paragraph (2) applies.
(2) This sub-paragraph applies if the PCT is satisfied that a period less than 28 days is necessary in order to—
(a) protect the safety of the contractor’s patients;
(b) protect itself from material financial loss; or
(c) otherwise protect the interest of the public.
(3) In a case falling with sub-paragraph (1), where the exceptions in sub-paragraph (2) do not apply, where the contractor invokes the NHS dispute resolution procedure before the end of the period of notice referred to in sub-paragraph (1), and it notifies the PCT that it has done so, the contract shall not terminate at the end of the notice period, but instead shall only terminate in the circumstances specified in sub-paragraph (4).
(4) The contract shall only terminate if and when—
(a) there has been a determination of the dispute pursuant to paragraph 31 and that determination permits the PCT to terminate the contact; or
(b) the contractor ceases to pursue the NHS dispute resolution procedure,
whichever is the sooner.
(5) If the PCT is satisfied that it is necessary to terminate the contract before the NHS dispute resolution procedure is concluded in order to—
(a) protect the safety of the contractor’s patients; or
(b) protect itself from material financial loss,
sub-paragraphs (3) and (4) shall not apply and the PCT shall be entitled to confirm, by notice to be served on the contractor, that the contract will nevertheless terminate at the end of the period of the notice the PCT served pursuant to the provisions of this Part of this Schedule.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2008/1185/schedule/1/paragraph/50 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/general-ophthalmic-services-contracts-regulations-2008/schedule-1/paragraph-50
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.