# The National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2015, Paragraph 59: Variation provisions specific to a contract with two or more persons practising in partnership


(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (4), where a contractor consists of two or more persons practising in partnership and that partnership is terminated or dissolved, the contract may only continue with one or more of the former partners if the conditions in paragraph (1A) are satisfied.
(1A) The conditions are—
(a) that partner is, or those partners are, named in a notice given under sub-paragraph (2);
(b) where one partner is named, that partner is a medical practitioner who satisfies the condition in regulation 5(1)(a);
(c) where more than one partner is named—
(i) each of those partners is either a medical practitioner or a person who satisfies the conditions specified in section 86(2)(b) of the Act (persons eligible to enter into GMS contracts); and
(ii) the new partnership satisfies the conditions imposed by regulations 5 and 6; and
(d) the requirements in sub-paragraphs (2) and (3) are met.
(2) A contractor must give notice in writing to NHS England of—
(a) the intention to change its status from that of a partnership to that of an individual medical practitioner; or
(b) the intention to change the composition of the partnership.
(3) A notice given under sub-paragraph (2) must—
(a) specify the date on which the contractor would like to change its status or composition, which must be at least 28 days after the date on which the contractor gives notice to NHS England under sub-paragraph (2);
(b) specify—
(i) where notice is given under paragraph (2)(a) the name of the medical practitioner with whom the contract is to continue;
(ii) where notice is given under paragraph (2)(b) the name and contact details of the partners with whom the contract is to continue; and
(c) be signed by each partner in the partnership.
(4) Where a contractor consists of two persons practising in partnership and the partnership is terminated or dissolved because one of the partners has died, the remaining partner in the partnership must give notice in writing to NHS England of that death as soon as is reasonably practicable and, in that case, sub-paragraphs (5) and (6) apply.
(5) If the remaining partner in the partnership is a general medical practitioner, the contract is to continue with that general medical practitioner.
(6) If the remaining partner in the partnership is not a general medical practitioner, NHS England—
(a) must enter into discussions with that partner and use reasonable endeavours to reach an agreement to enable the provision of clinical services to continue under the contract;
(b) may, if it considers it appropriate, consult the Local Medical Committee (if any) for the area in which the partnership was providing clinical services under the contract or such other person as NHS England considers necessary;
(c) may, if it considers it appropriate to enable the provision of clinical services under the contract to continue, offer the remaining partner in the partnership reasonable support; and
(d) must give notice to the remaining partner in the partnership if agreement has been reached in accordance with sub-paragraph (7) or, in the event that agreement cannot be reached, in accordance with sub-paragraph (8).
(7) If NHS England reaches an agreement, NHS England must give notice in writing to the remaining partner in the partnership confirming—
(a) the terms upon which NHS England agrees to the contract continuing with that partner including the period, as specified by NHS England, during which the contract is to continue (“the interim period”) and such a period must not exceed six months;
(b) that the partner agrees to the employment or engagement of a general medical practitioner for the interim period to assist in the provision of clinical services under the contract; and
(c) the support, if any, which NHS England is to provide to enable the provision of clinical services under the contract to continue during the interim period.
(8) If—
(a) the remaining partner in the partnership does not wish to employ or engage a medical practitioner;
(b) an agreement in accordance with sub-paragraph (6) cannot be reached; or
(c) the remaining partner in the partnership would like to withdraw from the agreed arrangements at any stage during the interim period,
NHS England must give notice in writing to that partner terminating the contract with immediate effect.
(9) If, at the end of the interim period, the contractor has not entered into partnership with a general medical practitioner who is not a limited partner in the partnership, NHS England must give notice in writing to the contractor terminating the contract with immediate effect.
(10) Where a contractor gives notice to NHS England under sub-paragraph (2) or (4), NHS England must—
(a) acknowledge receipt of the notice in writing; and
(b) in relation to a notice given under sub-paragraph (2), acknowledge receipt of the notice before the date specified in accordance with sub-paragraph (3)(a).
(11) Where a contractor gives notice to NHS England under sub-paragraph (2) or (4), NHS England may vary the contract but only to the extent that it is satisfied is necessary to reflect the change in status of the contractor from that of a partnership to an individual medical practitioner or the change in composition of the partnership.
(12) If NHS England varies the contract under sub-paragraph (11), NHS England must give notice in writing to the contractor of the wording of the proposed variation and the date upon which that variation is to take effect.
(13) In this paragraph “general medical practitioner” has the same meaning as in regulation 5(2).
(14) Sub-paragraphs (5) to (9) do not affect any other right which NHS England may have under the contract to vary or terminate the contract.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1862/schedule/3/paragraph/59 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/national-health-service-general-medical-services-contracts-regulations-2015/schedule-3/paragraph-59
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.