Complaints against ophthalmic medical practitioners
12.—(1) Where a contractor who, being an ophthalmic medical practitioner also performs primary medical services under a GMS contract for any person to whom he provides general ophthalmic services, the complaints procedure established and operated in accordance with the terms of that GMS contract shall apply in relation to any matter reasonably connected with his provision of general ophthalmic services as it applies as respects the provision of services under the GMS contract.
(2) Accordingly, any requirement as to co-operation with investigations of complaints by other bodies imposed on a GMS contractor under the term of his contract which gives effect to paragraph 89 of Schedule 5 to the Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004(1) also applies in relation to complaints about such matters.
(3) In this paragraph “GMS contract” means a general medical services contract under Article 57 of the Order and “general medical services contractor” shall be construed accordingly.
(4) For as long as there are in existence contracts entered into under Article 13 of the General Medical Services Transitional and Consequential Provisions (No.1) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004(2) (“default contracts”), any reference in this paragraph to a GMS contract shall be read as including a reference to a contract entered into under that Article and any reference to a term of a GMS contract shall be read as including a reference to the equivalent term of the default contract.