# The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2004, Paragraph 35: Assignments to closed lists: determinations of the assessment panel


(1) This paragraph applies where most or all of the providers of essential services (or their equivalent) whose practice premises are within the area of a Primary Care Trust have closed their lists of patients.
(2) If the Primary Care Trust wishes to assign new patients to contractors which have closed their lists of patients, it must prepare a proposal to be considered by the assessment panel which must include details of those contractors to which the Primary Care Trust wishes to assign patients.
(3) The Primary Care Trust must ensure that the assessment panel is appointed to consider and determine its proposal made under sub-paragraph (2), and the composition of the assessment panel shall be as described in paragraph 31(5).
(4) The Primary Care Trust shall notify in writing—
(a) the relevant Strategic Health Authority;
(b) contractors or section 28C providers whose practice premises are within the Primary Care Trust’s area which—
(i) have closed their list of patients, and
(ii) may, in the opinion of the Primary Care Trust, be affected by the determination of the assessment panel; and
(c) the Local Medical Committee (if any) for the area of the Primary Care Trust,
that it has referred the matter to the assessment panel.
(5) In reaching its determination, the assessment panel shall have regard to relevant factors including—
(a) whether the Primary Care Trust has attempted to secure the provision of essential services (or their equivalent) for new patients other than by means of their assignment to contractors with closed lists of patients; and
(b) the workload of those contractors likely to be affected by any decision to assign such patients to their list of patients.
(6) The assessment panel shall reach a determination within the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the panel was appointed.
(7) The assessment panel shall determine whether the Primary Care Trust may assign patients to contractors which have closed their lists of patients; and if it determines that the Primary Care Trust may make such assignments, it shall also determine those contractors to which patients may be assigned.
(8) The assessment panel may determine that the Primary Care Trust may assign patients to contractors other than those contractors specified by the Primary Care Trust in its proposal under sub-paragraph (2), as long as the contractors were notified under sub-paragraph (4)(b).
(9) The assessment panel’s determination shall include its comments on the matters specified in sub-paragraph (5), and shall be notified in writing to—
(a) the relevant Strategic Health Authority; and
(b) those contractors which were notified under sub-paragraph (4)(b).

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/291/schedule/6/paragraph/35 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/national-health-service-general-medical-services-contracts-regulations-2004/schedule-6/paragraph-35
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.