The National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Regulations 1992

PART I GENERAL

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Regulations 1992 and shall come into force on 1st April 1992.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Act” means the National Health Service Act 1977(1);

“appliance” means an appliance which is included in a list for the time being approved by the Secretary of State for the purposes of section 41 of the Act;

“appropriate committee” means, in relation to a matter to be investigated under Part II, whichever of the committees referred to in regulation 3(1) is the appropriate committee by virtue of regulation 4;

“assistant” has, in relation to a dentist, the same meaning as in the Dental Regulations;

“the Board” means the Dental Practice Board(2);

“chemist” has the same meaning as in the Pharmaceutical Regulations;

“complaint”, except in regulation 20 and Part III, means a complaint made in accordance with regulations 5 and 6;

“conciliation” means the process of conciliation established and maintained by the FHSA, pursuant to a direction under section 17 of the Act, with a view to resolving a matter giving rise to a complaint without recourse to an investigation under these Regulations;

“Dental Advisory Committee” has the meaning given to it in Part III of Schedule 5;

“dental list” means the list prepared by an FHSA under regulation 4 of the Dental Regulations;

“dental officer” means—

(a)

for the purposes of regulation 17 (investigation of record keeping), a dentist in the service of the Department of Health, the Board or the Welsh Office, as the case may be,

(b)

for all other purposes, a dentist in the service of the Department of Health or the Welsh Office, as the case may be;

“Dental Regulations” means the National Health Service (General Dental Services) Regulations 1992(3);

“dental service committee” means the committee referred to in regulation 3(1)(a)(ii);

“dentist” means a registered dental practitioner;

“dentists' panel”, except in regulation 19(7), means the panel of dentists who are, or who have been, engaged in the provision of general dental services and who have been nominated to the panel for the purposes of these Regulations by a body which is, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, representative of the dental profession;

“denture conciliation committee” means the committee referred to in regulation 3(1)(b);

“deputy”—

(a)

in relation to a doctor, means a person to whom the doctor has, under paragraph 19 of his terms of service, delegated the treatment of his patient,

(b)

in relation to a dentist, has the same meaning as in the Dental Regulations;

“doctor” means a registered medical practitioner, other than one acting in the capacity of an ophthalmic medical practitioner;

“doctors' panel”, except in regulation 15, means the panel of doctors who are, or who have been, engaged in the provision of general medical services and who have been nominated to the panel for the purposes of these Regulations by a body which is, in the Secretary of State’s opinion, representative of doctors engaged in the provision of general medical services;

“drug” includes medicine;

“estimate” has the same meaning as in the Dental Regulations;

“FHSA” means the Family Health Services Authority constituted for any locality;

“investigation” means the investigation, under Part II, of a complaint or of a matter referred under regulation 7 or 8;

“joint services committee” means the committee referred to in regulation 3(1)(a)(v);

“Local Dental Committee”, “Local Medical Committee”, “Local Optical Committee” and “Local Pharmaceutical Committee” mean the committees of those names which are recognised by the FHSA in relation to its locality under section 44 of the Act(4), and “Local Representative Committee” means any of those committees;

“Medical Advisory Committee” has the meaning given to it in Part II of Schedule 5;

“medical list” has the same meaning as in the Medical Regulations;

“medical officer” means a doctor in the service of the Department of Health or the Welsh Office, as the case may be;

“Medical Regulations” means the National Health Service (General Medical Services) Regulations 1992(5);

“medical service committee” means the committee referred to in regulation 3(1)(a)(i);

“ophthalmic list” has the same meaning as in the Ophthalmic Regulations;

“ophthalmic medical practitioner” has the same meaning as in the Ophthalmic Regulations;

“Ophthalmic Regulations” means the National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) Regulations 1986(6);

“ophthalmic service committee” means the committee referred to in regulation 3(1)(a)(iii);

“optician” means—

(a)

in the context of any provision requiring a member of a body constituted under these Regulations to be an optician, a registered ophthalmic optician within the meaning of the Opticians Act 1989(7);

(b)

in any other context, a registered ophthalmic optician within the meaning of that Act, or a body corporate enrolled in the list mentioned in section 9(1)(a) of that Act;

“Part II service” means any of the services to be provided under Part II of the Act, that is to say general medical services, general dental services, general ophthalmic services or pharmaceutical services;

“party” means, in relation to—

(a)

an investigation, the complainant, the practitioner or the body which has referred a matter under regulation 7 or 8;

(b)

an appeal under regulation 10, the appellant or the respondent;

“patient”, except in Part III, means any person who is or who claims to be, entitled to the provision of a Part II service;

“pharmaceutical list” has the same meaning as in the Pharmaceutical Regulations;

“Pharmaceutical Regulations” means the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 1992(8);

“pharmaceutical service committee” means the committee referred to in regulation 3(1)(a)(iv);

“pharmacist” means a registered pharmacist;

“practitioner” means a doctor, dentist, ophthalmic medical practitioner, optician or chemist against whom a complaint has been made or in respect of whom a matter has been referred under regulation 7 or 8;

“prescription form” has the same meaning as in the Pharmaceutical Regulations;

“prior approval requirement” has the meaning given to it in regulation 14(1);

“relevant local representative committee” means—

(a)

in relation to a doctor, or the medical service committee, the Local Medical Committee;

(b)

in relation to a dentist, or the dental service committee, the Local Dental Committee;

(c)

in relation to an ophthalmic medical practitioner or an optician, or the ophthalmic service committee, the Local Optical Committee;

(d)

in relation to a chemist, or the pharmaceutical service committee, the Local Pharmaceutical Committee,

recognised in relation to the locality in question;

“respondent”, in relation to an appeal under regulation 10—

(a)

where the appeal is brought by the practitioner, means the complainant or, as the case may be, the FHSA which was a party to the investigation;

(b)

in any other case, means the practitioner;

“salaried dentist” has the same meaning as in the Dental Regulations;

“service committee” means any committee referred to in regulation 3(1)(a)(i) to (iv);

“Statement of Dental Remuneration” has the same meaning as in the Dental Regulations;

“terms of service” has the same meaning—

(a)

in relation to a doctor—

(i)

as respects the provision of general medical services, as in the Medical Regulations,

(ii)

as respects the provision of pharmaceutical services, as in the Pharmaceutical Regulations;

(b)

in relation to a dentist, as in the Dental Regulations;

(c)

in relation to an ophthalmic medical practitioner or an optician, as in the Ophthalmic Regulations;

(d)

in relation to a chemist, as in the Pharmaceutical Regulations;

“treatment”, in relation to general medical services, has the same meaning as in the Medical Regulations, and, in relation to general dental services, means—

(a)

except in the context mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) of this definition—

(i)

where at the material time the dentist is providing occasional treatment under the Dental Regulations, treatment within the meaning of those Regulations,

(ii)

in any other case, care and treatment within the meaning of those Regulations;

(b)

in the context of the description of treatment to be specified under regulation 9(5)(d) or 14(2)(a), treatment within the meaning of the Dental Regulations other than—

(i)

one examination in the course of any single consultation,

(ii)

treatment in an emergency within the meaning of those Regulations,

(iii)

two radiographs, each of a size not exceeding 16 square centimetres, in the course of any single consultation, and

(iv)

treatment for which a dentist is remunerated in accordance with Section X (treatment under capitation) of Determination I of the Statement of Dental Remuneration dated 1st June 1991 and amended on 9th January 1992 and for which he receives no remuneration other than a capitation payment;

“the Tribunal” means the Tribunal constituted under section 46 of the Act.

(2) Unless the context otherwise requires—

(a) any reference in these Regulations—

(i) to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation bearing that number in these Regulations,

(ii) to a numbered Part or Schedule is a reference to the Part of, or Schedule to, these Regulations bearing that number;

(b) any reference in a regulation in, or in a Schedule to, these Regulations to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph bearing that number in that regulation or Schedule;

(c) any reference, in a paragraph in a Schedule to these Regulations, to a numbered sub-paragraph is a reference to the sub-paragraph bearing that number in that paragraph.

(3) Where, by virtue of directions given under section 13 of the Act, or by virtue of any arrangements made pursuant to Regulations made under the Act(9), a function of the Secretary of State is exercisable by some other person or body, a reference in these Regulations in relation to that function—

(a) to the Secretary of State includes a reference to the person or body exercising that function on behalf of the Secretary of State; and

(b) to the principal office of the Secretary of State includes a reference to the principal office of that person or body.

(1)

1977 c. 49.

(2)

See section 12(1) of the Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c. 49).

(3)

S.I. 1992/661.

(4)

Section 44 was amended by section 12 of the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19).

(5)

S.I. 1992/635.

(6)

S.I. 1986/975.

(7)

1989 c. 44.

(8)

S.I. 1992/662.

(9)

See S.I. 1992/660.