NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) has confirmed that GP practices have three years to challenge their notional rent reimbursement.
Although it is written in the general medical services (GMS) contract that: “Any party wishing to refer a dispute as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) must send the request under sub-paragraph (3) within a period of three years beginning with the date on which the matter giving rise to the dispute happened,” NHS England has allegedly been arguing that it must occur within three months.
Paul Conlan, operations director at GP Surveyors, a chartered surveyors firm, explains: “Over the past year we have taken on an increasing number of notional rent appeals (on behalf of our GP clients) where NHS England has refused to enter into local negotiations.
“NHS England reasoned that this was because the practices had not opened the disputes within the three month time frame which was outlined in letters to the practices following their reviews,” he added.
NHSLA confirmed that GP practices (or their representatives) have three years to enter into LDRP if they are not in agreement with their new Notional Rent figure and NHS England must make every effort to resolve the matter before it is referred to disputes.
Conlan is calling on any practices that were put off by the supposed three month deadline to now come forward.
