Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972

General Dental Services, General Ophthalmic Services and Pharmaceutical Services N.I.

Arrangements for general dental services N.I.

61.—(1) Every Health and Social Services Board shall, in accordance with regulations, make arrangements in respect of its area with dental practitioners under which any person for whom a dental practitioner undertakes in accordance with the arrangements to provide dental treatment and appliances shall receive such treatment and appliances, and the services provided in accordance with the arrangements are in this Order referred to as “general dental services”.

(2) Subject to paragraph (4), regulations may make provisions as to the arrangements to be made under paragraph (1), and shall include provision—

(a) for the preparation, publication and maintenance of lists of dental practitioners who undertake to provide general dental services;

(b )F1 for conferring a right, subject to [F2 [F3 paragraphs (2A) and (2AA)][F4 , to any provision made under Article 64C][F5 , to regulations under Article 4 of the Health and Medicines (Northern Ireland) Order 1988] and to] the provisions of this Order relating to the disqualification of persons providing services, on any dental practitionerF3 . . . who wishes to be included in any such list, to be so included;

Sub-para. (c) rep. by 1997 NI 7

(d) for the making and recovery by persons providing general dental services of charges in respect of—

(i) the extra expense involved in the supply, at the request of the person supplied, as part of those services, of any dental appliance which is of a more expensive type than that which would normally be supplied, or the replacement or repair of any such appliance; or

(ii) the replacement or repair of any dental appliance supplied as part of the services aforesaid, if it is determined in the prescribed manner that the replacement or repair is necessitated by an act or omission of the person supplied or (if it occurred when he was under sixteen years of age) of his or of the person having charge of him when it occurred; and

F6 (e) for [F7 the determination of] the remuneration of dental practitioners providing general dental services.

F2 [(2A)  No dental practitioner who is a national of a member State and is registered by virtue of a qualification granted in a member State shall be entitled to have his name included in the lists mentioned in paragraph (2)(a) unless he satisfies the Health and Social Services Board in whose area his surgery is, or is to be, situated that he has that knowledge of English which, in the interests of himself and his patients, is necessary for the provision of general dental services in the Board's area.]

[F3 (2AA) Regulations may make the exercise of the right conferred by virtue of sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) subject to any provision made by or under the regulations, and, in such cases as may be prescribed, may confer a right of appeal to a prescribed body in respect of a refusal to include a dental practitioner on such a list as is referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of that paragraph.]

[F8 F9 (2B) Where the registration of a dental practitioner in the dentists register is suspended—

(a) by an order under section 32 of the Dentists Act 1984 (interim suspension); or

(b) by a direction or an order of the Health Committee under that Act (health cases),

the suspension shall not terminate any arrangements made with him for the provision of general dental services, but he shall not provide such services in person during the suspension.

(2C) Regulations under paragraph (2)(e) may provide for the making of payments in consequence of suspension to a dental practitioner whose registration is suspended as mentioned in paragraph (2B).]

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), regulations may make provision for the making and recovery of charges (subject to such safeguards as the Ministry may consider necessary) by persons providing general dental services in respect of treatment which, on the ground of the nature of the treatment provided or such other special circumstances (whether related to the nature of the treatment or otherwise) as may be prescribed, justifies an extra charge.

(4) Before making any regulations under this Article, the Ministry shall consult such organisations as appear to the Minister to be representative of the dental profession.

F1 mod. by SR 2004/259

F2 SI 1981/432

F3 1991 NI 1

F4 2001 c. 3 (NI)

F5 1988 NI 24

F6 prosp. rep. by 1984 NI 8

F7 1978 NI 26

F8 1986 NI 24

F9 prosp. subst. by SI 2005/2011

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, [F10 and opthalmic opticians for securing the testing][F11 by them of the sight—]

[F11 (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.]

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,[F10 and ophthalmic] opticians respectively who undertake to provide general ophthalmic services;

(b )F12 for conferring a right, subject[F13 to any provision made under Article 64C and] to the provisions of this Order relating to the disqualification of persons providing services, on any medical practitionerF14 . . . having the prescribed qualifications,[F10 or ophthalmic] 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 obtainedF10 . . . ;

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

F15 (f) for [F16 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,[F10 and ophthalmic] opticians.

[F11 (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”.]

F10 1984 NI 8

F11 1988 NI 24

F12 mod. by SR 2004/259

F13 2001 c. 3 (NI)

F14 1991 NI 1

F15 prosp. rep. by 1984 NI 8

F16 1978 NI 26

Arrangements for pharmaceutical services N.I.

63 .F17   [F18 (1) Every Health and Social Services Board shall, in accordance with regulations, make arrangements in respect of its area for the[F19 provision] to persons who are in that area of—

(a)

proper and sufficient drugs and medicines and listed appliances which are ordered for those persons by a medical practitioner in pursuance of his functions—

(i)

in providing any service in pursuance of this Order; or

(ii)

in the health services established in pursuance of section 1 of the National Health Service Act 1977 [1977 c.49] or section 1 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 [1978 c.29] ; or

(iii)

in the armed forces of the Crown (excluding forces of a Commonwealth country and forces raised in a colony);F20 . . .

(b)

listed drugs and medicines which are ordered for those persons by a dental practitioner in pursuance of such functions;F20 . . .

(bb)

[F20 listed drugs and medicines and listed appliances which are ordered for those persons by[F21 a pharmacist or] a prescribed description of registered nurse, midwife or health visitor in pursuance of such functions; and]

(c)

[F19 such services as may be prescribed;]

[F22 and the services provided in accordance with the arrangements are, together with additional pharmaceutical services provided in accordance with a direction under Article 63A, referred to in this Order as “pharmaceutical services”.]

[F23 (2) Regulations shall provide for securing that arrangements made by a Health and Social Services Board under paragraph (1) will enable persons in the Board's area for whom drugs, medicines or appliances mentioned in that paragraph are ordered as there mentioned[F19 , or to whom services mentioned in paragraph (1)(c) are to be provided] to receive them from persons with whom such arrangements have been made.

(2A) The regulations shall include provision—

(a) for the preparation, publication and maintenance of lists of persons, other than medical practitioners and dental practitioners, who undertake to provide pharmaceutical services;

(b) that an application to a Health and Social Services Board for inclusion in such a list shall be made in the prescribed manner and shall state—

(i) the[F19 pharmaceutical] services which the applicant will undertake to provide and, if they consist of or include the supply of appliances, which appliances he will undertake to supply; and

(ii) the premises from which he will undertake to provide those[F19 pharmaceutical] services;

(c) that, except in prescribed cases—

(i) an application for inclusion in such a list by a person not already included; and

(ii) an application by a person already included in such a list for inclusion also in respect of[F19 pharmaceutical] services or premises other than those already listed in relation to him,

shall be granted only if the Health and Social Services Board is satisfied, in accordance with the regulations, that it is necessary or desirable to grant it in order to secure in the neighbourhood in which the premises are located the adequate provision by persons included in the list of the[F19 pharmaceutical] services or some of the[F19 pharmaceutical] services, specified in the application; and

(d) for the removal of an entry in respect of premises from a list if it has been determined in the prescribed manner that the person to whom the entry relates—

(i) has never provided from those premises, or

(ii) has ceased to provide from them,

the[F19 pharmaceutical] services, or any of the[F19 pharmaceutical] services, which he is listed as undertaking to provide from them.

(2B) The regulations may include provision—

(a) that an application to a Health and Social Services Board may be granted in respect of some only of the[F19 pharmaceutical] services specified in it;

(b) that an application to a Health and Social Services Board relating to[F19 pharmaceutical] services of a prescribed description shall be granted only if it appears to the Board that the applicant has satisfied such conditions with regard to the provisions of those[F19 pharmaceutical] services as may be prescribed;

[F24 (ba) that an application to a Health and Social Services Board by a person who qualified to have his name registered under the Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 by virtue of Article 8(2)(c) of that Order (qualification by European diploma) shall not be granted unless the applicant satisfies the Board that he has the knowledge of English which, in the interests of himself and the persons making use of the[F19 pharmaceutical] services to which the application relates, is necessary for the provision of pharmaceutical services in the Board's area;]

(c) that the inclusion of a person in a list in pursuance of such an application may be for a fixed period;

(d) that, where the premises from which an application states that the applicant will undertake to provide[F19 pharmaceutical] services are in an area of a prescribed description, the applicant shall not be included in the list unless his inclusion is approved by a prescribed body and by reference to[F19 prescribed criteria]; and

(e) that the prescribed body may give its approval subject to conditions.

(2C) The regulations shall include provision conferring on such persons as may be prescribed rights of appeal from decisions made by virtue of paragraph (2A) or (2B).

(2D) The regulations shall be so framed as to preclude—

(a) a person included in a list published under paragraph (2A)(a); and

(b) an employee of such a person,

from taking part in the decision whether an application such as is mentioned in paragraph (2A)(c) should be granted or an appeal against such a decision brought by virtue of paragraph (2C) should be allowed.]

(3) Before making any regulations under this Article, the Ministry shall consult such organisations as appear to the Minister to be representative of the pharmaceutical profession.

F18 [(4) In this Article “listed” means included in a list for the time being approved for the purposes of this Article by the Department.]

F17 mod. by SR 2004/259

F18 1978 NI 26

F19 1991 NI 1

F20 1992 NI 18

F21 2003 NI 9

F22 1997 NI 7

F23 1986 NI 20

F24 SR 1987/457

[F25 Arrangements for providing additional pharmaceutical services N.I.

63A.— (1) The Department may—

(a) give directions to a Health and Social Services Board requiring it to arrange for the provision to persons in its area of additional pharmaceutical services; or

(b) by giving directions to a Health and Social Services Board authorise it to arrange for such provision if it wishes to do so.

(2) Directions under this Article may make different provision in relation to different services specified in the directions.

(3) The Department must publish any directions under this Article in the Drug Tariff or in such other manner as it thinks appropriate.

(4) In this Article—

• “additional pharmaceutical services”, in relation to directions, means such services (of a kind that do not fall within Article 63) as may be specified in the directions; and

• “Drug Tariff” means the Drug Tariff published under regulation 40 of the Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1973 or under any corresponding provision replacing, or otherwise derived from, that regulation.]

F25 1997 NI 7

[F26 Terms and conditions etc. N.I.

63B.— (1) Directions under Article 63A may require the Health and Social Services Board to which they apply, when making arrangements—

(a) to include, in the terms on which the arrangements are made, such terms as may be specified in the directions;

(b) to impose, on any person providing a service in accordance with the arrangements, such conditions as may be so specified.

(2) The arrangements must secure that any service to which they apply is provided only by a person whose name is included in a pharmaceutical list.

(3) Different arrangements may be made with respect to—

(a) the provision of the same service by the same person but in different circumstances; or

(b) the provision of the same service by different persons.

(4) A Health and Social Services Board must provide details of proposed arrangements (including the remuneration to be offered for the provision of services) to any person who asks for them.

(5) After making any arrangements, a Health and Social Services Board must publish, in such manner as the Department may direct, such details of the arrangements as the Department may direct.

(6) In this Article, “pharmaceutical list” means, subject to any provision of the directions in question, a list—

(a) published by the Health and Social Services Board concerned, or by any other Health and Social Services Board, in accordance with regulations made under Article 63(2A)(a); or

(b) published by any body in accordance with regulations made under section 27(2)(a) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 or section 42(2)(a) of the National Health Service Act 1977.]

F26 1997 NI 7

Persons authorised to provide pharmaceutical services N.I.

64.— [F27 (1)] Except as provided[F28 by or under regulations], an arrangement shall not be made by a Health and Social Services Board—

(a) with a medical or dental practitioner, under which he is required or agrees to provide pharmaceutical services to any person to whom he is rendering[F29 primary medical services] or general dental services; or

(b) with a person who is not a pharmacist, for the dispensing of medicines.

[F30 (1A) Regulations shall provide for the preparation and publication by a Health and Social Services Board of one or more lists of medical practitioners who are required or agree to provide drugs, medicines or listed appliances in the Board's area.

(1B) In paragraph (1A) “listed” has the same meaning as in Article 63.

(1C) The regulations shall include provision for the removal of an entry from a list in prescribed circumstances.]

[F27 (2) No arrangements for the provision of pharmaceutical services falling within Article 63(1)(c)[F30 , or additional pharmaceutical services provided in accordance with a direction under Article 63A,] shall be made with persons other than those who are pharmacists or are of a prescribed description.]

F27 1991 NI 1

F28 1986 NI 20

F29 2004 NI 2

F30 1997 NI 7