The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Amendment Regulations 1992

Statutory Instruments

1992 No. 365

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, ENGLAND AND WALES

The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Amendment Regulations 1992

Made

24th February 1992

Laid before Parliament

2nd March 1992

Coming into force

1st April 1992

The Secretary of State for Health, in exercise of powers conferred by sections 77 and 126(4) of the National Health Service Act 1977(1) and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:—

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Amendment Regulations 1992 and shall come into force on 1st April 1992.

(2) In these Regulations, “the principal Regulations” means the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations 1989(2).

Amendment of regulation 2 of the principal Regulations

2.  In regulation 2(1) of the principal Regulations (interpretation) the definitions of “oxygen concentrator” and “oxygen concentrator services” shall be omitted.

Amendment of the amounts specified in the principal Regulations

3.  For each amount specified in column (3) of the Schedule to these Regulations, where it appears in the provision of the principal Regulations specified in relation to it in column (1) (the subject matter of which is indicated in column (2)), there shall be substituted the amount specified in relation to it in column (4) of that Schedule.

Amendment of regulation 3 of the principal Regulations

4.  In regulation 3 of the principal Regulations (supply of drugs and appliances by chemists)—

(a) paragraph (1)(b) shall be omitted;

(b) in paragraph (2)—

(i) after sub-paragraph (b) there shall be inserted the word “or”,

(ii) after sub-paragraph (c)

the word “or” shall be omitted,

(iii) sub-paragraph (d)

shall be omitted.

Transitional provisions

5.  Where, on or after 1st April 1992—

(a) any appliance specified in Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations is supplied pursuant to an order given before that date; or

(b) any pre-payment certificate is granted under regulation 8 of the principal Regulations pursuant to an application under that regulation which was received before that date,

the principal Regulations shall have effect in relation to that supply or, as the case may be, that grant as if regulation 3 of these Regulations had not come into force.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health.

Virginia Bottomley

Minister of State

Department of Health

24th February 1992

Regulation 3

SCHEDULE AMOUNTS SUBSTITUTED IN THE PRINCIPAL REGULATIONS

(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
Provision in the principal Regulations	Subject matter	Old amount	New amount
Regulation 3—	Supply of drugs and appliances by chemists—
paragraph (1)(a)	charge for elastic hosiery—
	per item	£3.40	£3.75
	per pair	£6.80	£7.50
paragraph (1)(c)	charge for drugs, and for appliances not specified in sub-paragraph (a)	£3.40	£3.75
paragraph (3)	charge for drugs supplied by instalments	£3.40	£3.75
Regulation 4—	Supply of drugs and appliances by doctors—
paragraph (1)(a)	charge for elastic hosiery—
	per item	£3.40	£3.75
	per item	£6.80	£7.50
paragraph (1)(b)	charge for drugs, and for appliances not specified in sub-paragraph (a)	£3.40	£3.75
paragraph (3)	charge for drugs supplied by instalments	£3.40	£3.75
Regulation 5—	supply of drugs and appliances to out-patients by health authorities and NHS trusts—
paragraph (1)(a)	charge for elastic hosiery—
	per item	£3.40	£3.75
	per pair	£6.80	£7.50
paragraph (1)(c)	charge for tights	£6.80	£7.50
paragraph (1)(d)	charge for drugs and for appliances not specified in sub-paragraph (a) or (c) or in Schedule 1	£3.40	£3.75
paragraph (3)	charge for drugs supplied by instalments	£3.40	£3.75
Regulation 8(5)	Pre-payment certificate of exemption for—
	4 months	£17.60	£19.40
	12 months	£48.50	£53.50
Schedule 1	Charges for fabric supports and wigs—
	surgical brassiere	£14.50	£16.00
	abdominal or spinal support	£19.00	£21.00
	stock modacrylic wig	£29.00	£32.00
	partial human hair wig	£74.50	£82.00
	full bespoke human hair wig	£108.00	£119.00

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations 1989 (“the principal Regulations”) which provide for the making and recovery of charges for drugs and appliances supplied by doctors and chemists providing pharmaceutical services, and by health authorities to out-patients.

Amendments made to the principal Regulations by regulation 3, and the Schedule, increase the charge for items on prescription, or supplied to out-patients, from £3.40 to £3.75. The charge for elastic stockings is increased from £3.40 to £3.75 each (from £6.80 to £7.50 per pair). The charge for tights is increased from £6.80 to £7.50. The charges for partial human hair wigs and modacrylic wigs are increased from £74.50 to £82.00 and from £29.00 to £32.00 respectively. The charge for full human hair wigs is increased from £108.00 to £119.00. The charge for fabric supports is increased from £19.00 to £21.00 and the charge for surgical brassieres is increased from £14.50 to £16.00. The sums prescribed for the grant of pre-payment certificates of exemption from charges are increased from £17.60 to £19.40 for a four months certificate and from £48.50 to £53.50 for a twelve months certificate.

These Regulations remove the provision in the principal Regulations for a charge to be made by chemists in respect of an oxygen concentrator (regulation 4), and also remove the definitions of “oxygen concentrator” and “oxygen concenrator services” (regulation 2).

(1)

1977 c. 49; see section 128(1) for the definition of “prescribed” and “regulations”; section 126(4) was amended by the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19), section 65(2).

(2)

S.I. 1989/419; the relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1990/537 and S.I. 1991/579.