Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972

Arrangements for general ophthalmic services N.I.

62.—(1) Every Health and Social Services Board shall, in accordance with regulations, make arrangements in respect of its area with medical practitioners having the prescribed qualifications, [F1 and opthalmic opticians for securing the testing][F2 by them of the sight—]

[F2 (a) of a child;

(b) of a person whose resources fall to be treated under the regulations as being less than his requirements or as being equal to his requirements; or

(c) of a person of such other description as may be prescribed.]

F2 and the services provided in accordance with such arrangements are in this Order referred to as “general ophthalmic services”.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), regulations may make provision as to the arrangements to be made under this Article, and shall include provision—

(a) for the preparation and publication of lists of medical practitioners,[F1 and ophthalmic]F1 opticians respectively who undertake to provide general ophthalmic services;

(b )F3 for conferring a right, subject[F4 to any provision made under Article 64C and]F4 to the provisions of this Order relating to the disqualification of persons providing services, on any medical practitioner having the prescribed qualifications,[F1 or ophthalmic]F1 optician who wishes to be included in the appropriate list, to be so included;

(c) for conferring on any medical practitioner, who is dissatisfied with a determination that he does not possess the qualifications prescribed under this Article, a right of appeal to a committee appointed by the Ministry, and for making provision for any matter for which it appears to the Ministry to be necessary or expedient to make provision in consequence of the conferring of that right;

(d) for conferring on any person a right to choose, in accordance with the prescribed procedure, the medical practitioner or ophthalmic optician by whom his sight is to be tested or from whom any prescription for the supply of optical appliances is to be obtained;

Sub-para. (e) rep. by 1984 NI 8

F5 (f) for [F6 the determination of] the remuneration of persons providing or participating in the provision of general ophthalmic services.

(3) Before making any regulations under this Article, the Ministry shall consult such organisations as appear to the Minister to be representative of medical practitioners practising as ophthalmic medical practitioners,[F1 and ophthalmic]F1 opticians.

[F2 (4) In this Article—

“child” means—

(a) a person who is under the age of 16 years; or

(b) a person who is under the age of 19 years and receiving qualifying full‐time education; and

“qualifying full‐time education” means full-time instruction—

(a) at an educational establishment recognised by the Department as being, or as comparable to, a school, college or university; or

(b) by other means accepted as comparable by the Department,

and for the purposes of this definition regulations may prescribe the circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated as receiving full‐time instruction.

(5) Regulations under this Article may direct how a person's resources and requirements are to be calculated and, without prejudice to the generality of this paragraph, may direct that they shall be calculated—

(a) by a method set out in the regulations;

(b) by a method described by reference to a method of calculating or estimating income or capital specified in a transferred provision other than this Article or by reference to such a method but subject to prescribed modifications;

(c) by reference to an amount applicable for the purposes of a payment under a transferred provision; or

(d) by reference to the person's being or having been entitled to payment under a transferred provision.

(6) Descriptions of persons may be prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (1) by reference to any criterion and, without prejudice to the generality of this paragraph, by reference to any of the following criteria—

(a) their age;

(b) the fact that a prescribed person or a prescribed body accepts them as suffering from a prescribed medical condition;

(c) the fact that a prescribed person or a prescribed body accepts that a prescribed medical condition from which they suffer arose in prescribed circumstances;

(d) their receipt of benefit in money or in kind under any transferred provision or their entitlement to receive any such benefit; and

(e) the receipt of any such benefit by other persons satisfying prescribed conditions or the entitlement of other persons satisfying prescribed conditions to receive such benefits.

(7) Regulations which refer to a transferred provision may direct that the reference is to be construed as a reference to that provision—

(a) as it has effect at the time when the regulations are made; or

(b) both as it has effect at that time and as amended subsequently.

(8) Regulations may provide that a person—

(a) whose sight is tested by a person who provides general ophthalmic services; and

(b) who is shown during the testing or within a prescribed time after it to fall within paragraph (1),

shall be taken for the purposes of the testing to have so fallen immediately before his sight was tested; and the testing shall be treated—

(i) for the purposes of any arrangements under this Article;

(ii) for the purposes of remuneration in respect of the testing; and

(iii) for any such other purpose as may be prescribed,

as a testing of sight under this Order.

(9) Regulations shall define the services for the provision of which arrangements under this Article are to be made and the services so defined are in this Order referred to as “general ophthalmic services”.]

Annotations:

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F1 1984 NI 8

F2 1988 NI 24

F3 mod. by SR 2004/259

F4 2001 c. 3 (NI)

F5 prosp. rep. by 1984 NI 8

F6 1978 NI 26