Written Question · S2W-12322 · Session 2
Whether the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 or the current rules and regulations on the appo…
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the National Health Service (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995 or the current rules and regulations on the appointment of a GP were applied in the composition and voting procedures for the area medical committee that appointed Dr Gilchrist to fill the single GP vacancy at the Rowallan Medical Centre in Blantyre and whether it is satisfied that the voting procedures adopted at the relevant meeting of the Lanarkshire Area Medical Committee were legally competent.
The answer
The method by which doctors are selected for appointment as a GP is a matter for each NHS board. In the case of Dr Gilchrist applications were considered in January and August 2004 in terms of the NHS (General Medical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 1995. Those regulations placed a requirement on a NHS board to select a candidate when more than one application is received from registered medical practitioners but did not specify how that is to be done. The Area Medical Committee did not make the selections. The approach adopted by Lanarkshire NHS board was to delegate responsibility for general medical services to the Lanarkshire Primary Care Medical Committee which comprised representatives of the board, the Area Medical Committee, representing the profession, and others.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S2W-12322 by reference.