Annual Medical Examination (Scotland) Act 2017 1

MODEL
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

Annual Medical Examination (Scotland) Bill

SP Bill 6

(as amended at Stage 2)

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to provide people aged over 40 with annual medical
examinations; and for connected purposes.

1 Notification of entitlement
(1) Medical practices shall be required to issue letters of notification of entitlement to
receive a medical examination to every registered patient on the first working day
following their 40th birthday, and each birthday thereafter.
(2) Freepost envelopes, stamped with freepost annual medical exam notification in
block capital letters, shall be provided by the Post Office to medical practices for
this purpose.
(3) People identified through their CHI(1) number as being unregistered with a medical
practice shall similarly be issued a letter also encouraging them to register with a
medical practice.
(4) People shall be invited to schedule an appointment at their convenience at any point
over the subsequent 12 months, although they shall not be required to.

2 The examination
(1) The examination shall be conducted by a general practitioner within the medical
practice, but if medically necessary, the examination may be conducted as a
domiciliary appointment.
(2) The examination shall consist of identifying the onset of chronic health conditions,
as well as an interview about the health-related lifestyle choices of the patient.
(3) The general practitioner may provide further information and advice about lifestyle
changes to the patient.
(4) The general practitioner may also refer the patient for a course of treatment,
including but not limited to
(a) issuing prescription medicines,
(b) scheduling a follow-up appointment,

(1)
Community Health Index.
2 Annual Medical Examination (Scotland) Act 2017

(c) referring the patient to a dentist or optician,

(d) referring the patient to a hospital department, or
(e) contacting the emergency services.
(5) Any course of treatment must be agreed to by the patient, except in emergency
situations.
(6) Standard medical ethics shall apply during the examination.

3 Access to medical practices

(1) Every patient shall have the right to receive a copy of the results of the examination,
and
(a) this will initially be produced in English, or Gaelic if the examination was
conducted in Gaelic, and
(b) patients may request a translation into the other language or any other
language.
(2) Transport shall be provided in rural areas if the patient has no other method of
reaching the medical practice and a domiciliary appointment is not necessary.

4 Short title and commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Annual Medical Examination (Scotland) Act 2017.
(2) This Act shall come into force at midnight following Royal Assent.