The National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2006

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations–

“the Act” means the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978;

“the Agency” means the Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service constituted under section 10 of the Act(1);

“area medical committee” means the committee of that name for the area of a Health Board recognised under section 9 of the Act(2);

“area optical committee” means the committee of that name for the area of a Health Board recognised under section 9 of the Act;

“Board” means a Health Board constituted for any area under section 2 of the Act(3);

“body corporate” means a body corporate registered in the register of bodies corporate maintained under section 9 of the Opticians Act 1989(4) carrying on business as an optometrist and includes a partnership and a limited liability partnership, and in relation to such partnerships, the reference to a director or other officer of a body corporate is a reference to a member;

“complex appliance” means an optical appliance at least one lens of which–

(a)

has a power in any one meridian of plus or minus 10 or more dioptres, or

(b)

is a prism controlled bifocal lens;

“condition for disqualification” means the first, second or third condition for disqualification in section 29 of the Act(5);

“conditional disqualification” has the same meaning as in section 29C(1) of the Act(6) and includes a decision under provisions in force in England, Wales or Northern Ireland corresponding (whether or not exactly) to a conditional disqualification, and “conditionally disqualified” shall be construed accordingly;

“contractor” means a person who has undertaken to provide general ophthalmic services and whose name is included in the first part of the Ophthalmic List;

“corresponding decision” has the same meaning as in section 32D(7) of the Act;

“day centre” means an establishment attended by patients and accepted by the Board as suitable for the provision of general ophthalmic services in the Board’s area for those patients who would have difficulty in obtaining such services from practice premises because of physical or mental illness or disability or because of difficulties in communicating their health needs unaided;

“deputy” means an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician, whether or not a contractor, who provides general ophthalmic services on behalf of a contractor otherwise than as a director or salaried employee of that contractor;

“director” means–

(a)

a director of a body corporate; or

(b)

a member of the body of persons controlling a body corporate;

“disqualification” means disqualification by the Tribunal, (or a corresponding decision under provisions in force in England, Wales or Northern Ireland corresponding to disqualification), but does not include conditional disqualification, and “disqualified” shall be construed accordingly;

“doctor” means a registered medical practitioner;

“EEA state” means a Contracting Party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area(8) signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol(9) signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993;

“enactment” includes an enactment comprised in, or an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament;

“enhanced criminal record certificate” has the meaning ascribed in section (6) of the Police Act 1997(10);

“equivalent body” means–

(a)

in England, a Primary Care Trust;

(b)

in Wales, a Local Health Board;

(c)

in Northern Ireland, a Health and Social Services Board;

(d)

in relation to any time prior to 1st October 2002, a Health Authority in England; or

(e)

in relation to any time prior to 1st April 2003, a Health Authority in Wales,

or any successor body;

“equivalent list” means a list kept by an equivalent body;

“eye examination” means a primary eye examination or a supplementary eye examination or both;

“eye examination form” means a form supplied by a Health Board which is to be completed for the purposes of payment in respect of an eye examination;

“fraud” means matters which it is the function of the Agency to prevent, detect or investigate by virtue of article 3(o) of the National Health Service (Functions of the Common Services Agency) (Scotland) Order 1974;(11)

“general ophthalmic services” means the services which a contractor must provide pursuant to paragraph 14 of Schedule 1;

“licensing or regulatory body” means a body that licenses or regulates any profession of which the ophthalmic medical practitioner, or the optician (as the case may be) is, or has been a member, including a body regulating or licensing the education, training or qualifications of that profession, and includes any body which licenses or regulates any such profession, its education, training or qualifications, outside the United Kingdom;

“list” has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning as in section 29(8)(12) of the Act;

“mobile practice” means a contractor who does not have practice premises in the Board’s area but who has undertaken to provide general ophthalmic services at a day or residential centre in that part of the Board’s area;

“ophthalmic hospital” includes an ophthalmic department of a hospital;

“Ophthalmic List” has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 6;

“ophthalmic medical practitioner” means a registered medical practitioner whose qualifications have been approved in accordance with regulation 4 or 5 as being prescribed qualifications;

“ophthalmic officer” means an ophthalmic medical practitioner, ophthalmic optician or ophthalmologist in the service of the Agency;

“Ophthalmic Qualifications Committee” means such committee appointed by organisations representative of the medical profession as may be recognised for the purposes of approving–

(a)

ophthalmic hospitals, academic degrees, academic or post graduate courses in ophthalmology and appointments affording special opportunities for acquiring the necessary skill and experience of the kind required for the provision of general ophthalmic services; and

(b)

the qualifications of doctors for the purpose of general ophthalmic services;

“optical appliance” means an appliance designed to correct, remedy or relieve a defect of sight;

“optician” means an ophthalmic optician as defined in section 108(1) of the Act(13);

“optometrist” means a person registered in the register of optometrists maintained under section 7 of the Opticians Act 1989(14) or a body corporate;

“patient” means any person for whom a contractor has agreed to provide general ophthalmic services, or in respect of whom an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician has agreed to assist in the provision of general ophthalmic services;

“primary eye examination” means the mandatory tests and procedures specified in Table A of Schedule 3 including where clinically necessary a sight test and the additional tests and procedures specified in column 2 of Table B of that schedule in the circumstances specified in column 1 of Table B of that schedule,;

“professional conduct” includes matters relating both to professional conduct and professional performance;

“professional registration number” means the number against the ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician’s name in the register;

“qualifications” includes qualifications as to experience;

“records” means the data specified in Table A of Schedule 5;

“register”–

(a)

in the case of an ophthalmic medical practitioner has the meaning given to it in section 2(2) of the Medical Act 1983(15);

(b)

in the case of an optician means a person registered in the register of optometrists maintained under section 7 of the Opticians Act 1989, or, in the case of a body corporate, the register of bodies corporate carrying on business as an optometrist maintained under section 9(16) of that Act;

“relevant service in the armed forces” means whole time service in the armed forces of the Crown in a national emergency, as a volunteer or otherwise, or a compulsory whole-time service in those forces, including any service resulting from any reserve liability, or any equivalent service by a person liable for compulsory whole-time service in those forces;

“required equipment” means:

(a)

visual field analyser capable of full threshold analysis within central 30 degrees;

(b)

slit lamp;

(c)

applanation tonometers;

(d)

condensing lens(es);

“residential centre” means an establishment in the Board’s area for patients who normally reside in that establishment and who are unable to leave the establishment unaccompanied because of physical or mental illness or disability;

“sight test” means a refraction to measure and correct the refractive error of the eyes by means of an optical appliance;

“the Statement” means the Statement prepared pursuant to the provisions of regulation 17;

“supplements” means prisms, tints, photochromic lenses, small glasses and complex appliances;

“supplementary eye examination” means the tests and procedures specified in column 2 of the Table in Schedule 4 in the circumstances specified in column 1 of that Schedule, including where clinically necessary a sight test;

“suspended” means suspended as respects the provision of general ophthalmic services to patients or as respects assisting in the provision of such services by a direction of the Tribunal made pursuant to section 32A(2) (applications for interim suspension)(17) or section 32B(1) suspension pending appeal)(18) of the Act or to any provisions in force in England and Wales or Northern Ireland (corresponding whether or not exactly) to those provisions;

“terms of service” means the terms set out in Schedule 1;

“Tribunal” means the Tribunal constituted in accordance with the provisions of section 29 of, and Schedule 8(19) to, the Act;

“working day” means a period of 7 hours 30 minutes on any day of the week, usually between the hours of 9.00am and 5.30pm with a 1 hour lunch break;

“writing” includes, except in regulation 7(1) electronic mail and “written” shall be construed accordingly.

(2) A reference to “the Agency” in these Regulations includes a reference to the Agency acting on behalf of a Board.

(3) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule is to the regulation in or Schedule to these regulations which bears that number, any reference in a regulation or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph bearing that number in that regulation or Schedule, and any reference in a paragraph of Schedule 1 to a numbered sub paragraph is to the sub paragraph bearing that number in that paragraph.

(1)

Section 10 was amended by the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19) (“the 1990 Act”), section 66(2) and Schedule 10; the 1999 Act section 65(1) and Schedule 4, paragraph 44(a); S.S.I. 1999/90, Art 2(a)(b) and Schedule 1, and is amended by the 2005 Act, Schedule 2, paragraph 2(a) with effect from 1st April 2006 in terms of S.S.I. 2006/121.

(2)

Section 9 was amended by the 1990 Act, section 29, the 1999 Act, section 65 and Schedule 4, paragraph 43, and the Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 7), Schedule 2.

(3)

Section 2(1) was amended by the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983 (c. 41), Schedule 7, paragraph 1, and the 1990 Act, section 28.

(4)

1989 c. 44; section 9 was amended by S.S.I. 2005/848, Art 9.

(5)

Section 29 was substituted by the 1999 Act, section 58, a relevant amendment is the 2005 Act, section 26 with effect from 1st April 2006 in terms of S.S.I. 2006/121.

(6)

Section 29C(1) was inserted by the Health Act 1999 (c. 8), section 58, and amended by S.S.I. 2004/167 and the 2005 Act, section 26 with effect from 1st April 2006 in terms of S.S.I. 2006/121.

(7)

Section 32D is substituted by the 2005 Act, section 27, with effect from 1st April 2006, in terms of S.S.I. 2006/121.

(8)

O.J. No. L 1, 3.1.94, p.1.

(9)

O.J. No. L 1, 3.1.94, p.571.

(10)

1997 c. 50. Relevant amendments are the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (c. 16) Schedule 6, paragraph 7, Schedule 7, part 5, and the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 (c. 7), section 70(3)(c).

(11)

S.I. 1974/467. Relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1991/900, S.S.I. 2000/224 and 2003/306.

(12)

Section 29(8) was amended by the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 (asp 5) (“the 2002 Act”), sections 25 and 27(2) and Schedule 2, paragraph 2(4)(b), and the 2005 Act, section 26(2)(e), with effect from 1st April 2006, in terms of S.S.I. 2006/121.

(13)

The definition of “ophthalmic optician” was substituted by the Opticians Act 1989 (Amendment) Order 2005/848, Schedule 1(2), paragraph 10.

(14)

(c.44); section 7 was amended by S.I. 2005/848, Art 7.

(15)

(c.54); section 2(2) was amended by S.I. 1996/1591 Regulation 7 and Schedule 2, paragraph 1 and by the Medical Act 1983 (Amendment) Order 2002/3135, article 9(1).

(16)

Section 9 was amended by S.I. 2005/848, Article 9.

(17)

Section 32A(2) was inserted by the National Health Service (Amendment) Act 1995 (c. 31) (“the 1995 Act”) section 1 amended by the 1999 Act, section 65 and Schedule 4, paragraph 51 and the 2005 Act, section 26(7)(b), with effect from 1st April 2006, in terms of S.S.I. 2006/.

(18)

Section 32B(1) was substituted by the 1995 Act, section 8 and amended by the 1999 Act, section 65 and Schedule 4, paragraph 52, and by the 2005 Act, Schedule 3 with effect from 1st April 2006, in terms of S.S.I. 2006/.

(19)

Schedule 8 was amended by the 1995 Act, section 12, S.I. 1995/3214; the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997 (c. 46), section 41(10), and Schedule 2, Part II, paragraph 58; S.I. 1998/631; the 1999 Act, sections 653 and Schedule 4, paragraph 64, and by the 2005 Act, Schedule 2, paragraph 2 with effect from 1st April 2006, in terms of S.S.I. 2006/122.