Optical Charges and Payments and General Ophthalmic Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

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.

Regulations 3 and 4 make amendments to the 1997 Regulations to require the supplier to ask the patient for satisfactory evidence that he is an eligible person when he presents a voucher to obtain an optical appliance under the Regulations, unless, in cases other than where the patient is eligible by virtue of his lack of resources, the supplier already has satisfactory evidence. If the patient does not do so, the supplier must record the fact on the voucher.

A number of amendments are made to the 1986 Regulations. Regulation 7 amends regulation 2 of the 1986 Regulations to insert some additional definitions. Regulation 8 imposes some additional requirements in respect of mobile practices responsible for the provision of general ophthalmic services.

Regulation 9 amends regulation 15A to provide that a contractor must ask the patient for satisfactory evidence of entitlement that he is an eligible person when the patient applies for a sight test under the Regulations unless, in cases other than where the patient is eligible by virtue of his lack of resources, the contractor already has satisfactory evidence. If the patient cannot produce such evidence, the contractor shall record the fact on the sight test form. In addition, where the contractor has carried out the sight test at a patient’s home, he must record on the sight test form the reason for the patient not being able to leave home unaccompanied.

The Regulations make some amendments to the terms of service set out in Schedule 1 to the 1986 Regulations. Paragraph 3 of the Schedule is amended to allow contractors to agree to provide general ophthalmic services at day centres or where the patient normally resides in specified circumstances. Provision is made in a new paragraph 3A to require mobile practices to notify a Health and Social Services Board and the Central Services Agency in advance when they intend to make visits to day centres or residential centres in that Board’s area. Paragraph 4 is amended to require mobile practices to provide suitable equipment and for this to be inspected, together with their facilities, by a person authorised by the Department, the Board, the Agency or the Ophthalmic Committee. Paragraph 10 is amended so that information shall be given to a patient’s doctor following a sight test only if it is appropriate and with the consent of the patient.