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Primary care trusts have been issued with an DoH advisory note regarding the ownership of patient records after concerns were raised about the implications of new GOS regulations which came into force on August 1 2008.

Local optometric committees and practice owners (News, August 8) had expressed concerns that clauses in some GOS contracts stated that PCTs had the right to confiscate a practice's records should that practice decide to give up NHS work. Those records would then be handed to another local practice.

At the time, Richard Llewellyn of Turners in Bridgwater, Somerset told Optician after finding a similar clause in his draft contract: 'Surely records represent part of the goodwill of my business as an independent contractor, and are not the property of the PCT to be requisitioned.'

The DoH statement which attempts to clarify the implications of the new GOS contact posted on the Primary Care Contracting website says: 'Where a business changes ownership, then the GOS records transfer to the new GOS contractor providing mandatory and/or additional services (as the case may be).

'If, however, a contract comes to an end and the practice ceases to provide GOS, the records of NHS patients should revert to the PCT, if it is not possible to transfer those records to another GOS practice which will take on those NHS patients.'

The statement adds: 'Where the PCT is considering an application for a contract from a business seeking to buy a practice the presumption is that the records would be transferred to that person/business following award of the contract.'

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