Optical Charges and Payments and General Ophthalmic Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2000 No. 51

HEALTH AND PERSONAL SOCIAL SERVICES

Optical Charges and Payments and General Ophthalmic Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000

Made

3rd March 2000

Coming into operation

1st April 2000

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety(1), in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 62, 98, and 106 of, and Schedule 15 to, the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972(2) and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, with the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel, and after consultation with such organisations as appeared to the Department to be representative of medical practitioners practising as ophthalmic medical practitioners, and ophthalmic opticians, as required by Article 62(3) of the said Order, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Optical Charges and Payments and General Ophthalmic Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 and shall come into operation on 1st April 2000.

(2) In these Regulations—

(a) “the 1997 Regulations” means the Health and Personal Social Services (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(3);

(b) “the 1986 Regulations” means the General Ophthalmic Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1986(4).

Amendment of regulation 1 of the 1997 Regulations

2.  In regulation 1 of the 1997 Regulations (citation, commencement and interpretation)—

(a) there shall be inserted after the definition of “capital limit” the following definition—

““child” means a person who is under the age of 16 years;”; and

(b) in the definition of “health service sight test fee”, for the amount “£40·33” there shall be substituted “£41·54” and for the amount “£14·57” there shall be substituted “£15·01”.

Amendment of regulation 2 of the 1997 Regulations

3.  In regulation 2 of the 1997 Regulations (charges for optical appliances supplied by an HSS trust)—

(a) in paragraph (3) for “£42·00” there shall be substituted “£42·80”; and

(b) in paragraph (5)(b) for “£51·50” and “£83·70” in both places where they occur there shall be substituted “£52·50” and “£85·40” respectively.

Amendment of regulation 8 of the 1997 Regulations

4.  In regulation 8 of the 1997 Regulations in paragraph (2) after sub-paragraph (a) there shall be inserted—

“(aa) a person under the age of 19 years and receiving qualifying full time education within the meaning of paragraph 2A(3) of Schedule 15 to the Order(5);”.

Amendment of regulation 15 of the 1997 Regulations

5.  In regulation 15 of the 1997 Regulations in paragraph (1)(b), for “8(2)(b)” there shall be substituted “8(2)(aa), (b),”.

Amendment of regulation 19 of the 1997 Regulations

6.  In regulation 19 of the 1997 Regulations (redemption value of voucher for replacement or repair)—

(a) in paragraph (1)(b) for “£42·00” there shall be substituted “£42·80”; and

(b) in paragraph (3) for “£10·80” there shall be substituted “£11·00”.

Amendment of Schedules to the 1997 Regulations

7.—(1) In Schedule 1 to the 1997 Regulations (voucher letter codes and face values — supply and replacement)(6) in column 3 (face value of voucher) for each amount specified in column 1 of the Table below (old amount) there shall be substituted the amount specified in relation to it in column 2 of that Table (new amount).

TABLE

Column 1	Column 2
Old amount	New amount
£ 28·70	£ 29·30
£ 43·60	£ 44·50
£ 59·40	£ 60·60
£134·20	£136·90
£ 49·50	£ 50·50
£ 63·00	£ 64·30
£ 75·80	£ 77·30
£147·50 (in both places where it appears)	£150·50
£ 42·00	£ 42·80

(2) In Schedule 2 to the 1997 Regulations (prisms, tints, photochromic lenses, small and special glasses and complex appliances)—

(a) in paragraph 1(1)(a) (prism — single vision lens) for “£6·00” there shall be substituted “£6·10”;

(b) in paragraph 1(1)(b) (prism — other lens) for “£6·90” there shall be substituted “£7·00”;

(c) in paragraph 1(1)(c) (single vision tinted lens) for “£3·00” there shall be substituted “£3·10”;

(d) in paragraph 1(1)(d) (other tinted lens) for “£3·50” there shall be substituted “£3·60”;

(e) in paragraph 1(1)(e) (small glasses)—

(i) in sub-head (i) for “£47·30” there shall be substituted “£48·20”,

(ii) in sub-head (ii) for “£42·00” there shall be substituted “£42·80”, and

(iii) in sub-head (iii) for “£22·70” there shall be substituted “£23·20”;

(f) in paragraph 1(1)(g) (specially manufactured frames) for “£47·30” there shall be substituted “£48·20”;

(g) in paragraph 2(a) (minimum complex appliance payment — single vision lenses) for “£10·00” there shall be substituted “£10·20”; and

(h) in paragraph 2(b) (minimum complex appliance payment – other cases) for “£25·40” there shall be substituted “£25·90”.

(3) For Schedule 3 to the 1997 Regulations (voucher values — repair)(7) there shall be substituted the Schedule 3 set out in the Schedule.

Amendment of the 1986 Regulations

8.  In Schedule 1 to the 1986 Regulations (terms of service)—

(a) in paragraph 4 (premises and equipment), in sub-paragraph (2)—

(i) for the words “from the Agency” there shall be substituted “from the Department, the Board, the Agency or the Committee”, and

(ii) after “the Department” there shall be inserted “, the Board”; and

(b) in paragraph 6 of Schedule 1 (records), in sub-paragraph (2) after “Department” in both places where it occurs, insert “, the Board”.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 3rd March 2000.

L.S.

D. A. Baker

A Senior Officer of the

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety

The Department of Finance and Personnel hereby approves the foregoing Regulations.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 3rd March 2000.

L.S.

J. G. Sullivan

A Senior Officer of the

Department of Finance and Personnel

Regulation 7(3)

SCHEDULE Schedule 3 to the 1997 Regulations as substituted by these Regulations

Regulation 19(2) and (3)

“SCHEDULE 3 Voucher Value — Repair

Letter Codes — Values

Nature of repair to appliance	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H & I
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Repair or replacement of one lens	9·10	16·70	24·80	63·00	19·80	26·50	33·20	69·80
Repair or replacement of 2 lenses	18·40	33·60	49·70	125·90	39·60	53·10	66·40	139.50
Repair or replacement of: the front of a frame	9·40	9·40	9·40	9·40	9·40	9·40	9·40	9·40
a side of a frame	5·60	5·60	5·60	5·60	5·60	5·60	5·60	5·60
the whole frame	11·00	11·00	11·00	11·00	11·00	11·00	11·00	11·00”

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend the Optical Charges and Payments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (“the 1997 Regulations”) which provide for payments to be made, by means of a voucher system, in respect of costs incurred by certain categories of persons in connection with the supply, replacement and repair of optical appliances. The Regulations also amend the General Ophthalmic Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1986 (“the 1986 Regulations”) which provide for the arrangements under which ophthalmic medical practitioners and ophthalmic opticians provide General Ophthalmic

Services.

Regulation 2 inserts a definition of “child”, and amends the definition of “health service sight test fee” in regulation 1(2) of the 1997 Regulations (citation, commencement and interpretation) to increase two levels of fees for such tests.

Regulation 3 provides for an increase in the charges for glasses and contact lenses supplied by an HSS trust.

Regulations 4 and 5 make minor amendments to the 1997 Regulations.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 19 of the 1997 Regulations (redemption value of voucher for replacement or repair) to increase the redemption value of two categories of vouchers, namely, vouchers for replacement and vouchers for repair.

Regulation 7(1) amends Schedule 1 to the 1997 Regulations to increase the value of vouchers issued towards the cost of the supply and replacement of glasses and contact lenses.

Regulation 7 (2) amends Schedule 2 to the 1997 Regulations by increasing the additional values for vouchers in respect of prisms, tints, and special categories of appliances.

Regulations 7(3) and the Schedule substitute a new Schedule 3 in the 1997 Regulations to increase the value of vouchers issued towards the cost of the repair and replacement of optical appliances.

The rate of increase is, on average, approximately 2%.

Regulation 8 amends paragraphs 4(2) and 6(2) of Schedule 1 to the 1986 Regulations (terms of service) to permit an authorised officer of a Health and Social Services Board to inspect a practitioner’s premises and equipment or to inspect records held by a practitioner.

(1)

S.I. 1999/283 (N.I. 1)— See Article 3(6)

(2)

S.I. 1972/1265 (N.I. 14) as amended by S.I. 1984/1158 (N.I. 8) Article 3(2) and paragraph 3 of Schedule 1; S.I. 1988/2249 (N.I. 24) paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 8, and S.I. 1991/194 (N.I. 1) Article 34 and Part II of Schedule 5; there are other amendments which are not relevant

(3)

S.R. 1997 No. 191; relevant amending Instrument is S.R. 1999 No. 177

(4)

S.R. 1986 No. 163 as amended by S.R. 1988 No. 110

(5)

Paragraph 2A was inserted by S.I. 1984/1150 (N.I. 8) Article 3(2) and paragraph 3 of Schedule 1

(6)

Schedule 1 is substituted by Part I of the Schedule to S.R. 1999 No. 111

(7)

Schedule 3 is substituted by Part II of the Schedule to S.R. 1999 No. 111