The Health and Personal Social Services (General Medical Services Contracts) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022

Amendment of regulation 2 of the principal Regulations

2.  In regulation 2(1) (interpretation)—

(a) at the appropriate places in alphabetical order insert the following definitions—

““chiropodist or podiatrist independent prescriber” means a person—

(a)

who is either engaged or employed by the contractor or is a party to the contract,

(b)

who is registered in Part 2 of the register maintained under Article 5 of the Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001(1), and

(c)

against whose name in that register is recorded an annotation signifying that he is qualified to order drugs, medicines and appliances as a chiropodist or podiatrist independent prescriber;”;

““independent prescriber” means—

(a)

a chiropodist or podiatrist independent prescriber,

(b)

an independent nurse prescriber,

(c)

an optometrist independent prescriber,

(d)

a paramedic independent prescriber,

(e)

a pharmacist independent prescriber,

(f)

a physiotherapist independent prescriber, and

(g)

a therapeutic radiographer independent prescriber;”;

““optometrist independent prescriber” means a person—

(a)

who is either engaged or employed by the contractor or is a party to the contract,

(b)

who is registered in the register of optometrists maintained under Section 7(a) of the Opticians Act 1989(2), and

(c)

against whose name in that register is recorded an annotation signifying that he is qualified to order drugs, medicines and appliances as an optometrist independent prescriber;”;

““paramedic independent prescriber” means a person—

(a)

who is either engaged or employed by the contractor or is a party to the contract,

(b)

who is registered in Part 8 of the register maintained under Article 5 of the Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001, and

(c)

against whose name in that register is recorded an annotation signifying that he is qualified to order drugs, medicines and appliances as a paramedic independent prescriber;”;

““physiotherapist independent prescriber” means a person—

(a)

who is either engaged or employed by the contractor or is a party to the contract,

(b)

registered in Part 9 of the register maintained under Article 5 of the Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001, and

(c)

against whose name in that register is recorded an annotation signifying that he is qualified to order drugs, medicines and appliances as a physiotherapist independent prescriber;”;

““therapeutic radiographer independent prescriber” means a radiographer—

(a)

who is either engaged or employed by the contractor or is a party to the contract,

(b)

who is registered in Part 11 of the register maintained under Article 5 of the Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001, and

(c)

against whose name in that register is recorded—

(i)

an entitlement to use the title “therapeutic radiographer”, and

(ii)

an annotation signifying that he is qualified to order drugs, medicines and appliances as a therapeutic radiographer independent prescriber;”;

(b) in the definition of “prescriber”—

(i) omit sub paragraph (aa); and

(ii) in sub paragraph (b) for “an independent nurse prescriber” substitute “an independent prescriber”;

(c) in the definition of “relevant register”, after paragraph (b) insert the following—

“(c) in relation to an optometrist, the register maintained by the General Optical Council in pursuance of Section 7(a) of the Opticians Act 1989; and

(d) the part of the register maintained under Article 5 of the Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001 relating to—

(i) chiropodists and podiatrists;

(ii) dietitians;

(iii) paramedics;

(iv) physiotherapists; and

(v) radiographers;”;

(d) in the definition of “supplementary prescriber”—

(i) in sub paragraph (b)(iii) after “1976,” omit “or”;

(ii) in sub paragraph (b)(iv)(dd) for “optometrists, and” substitute “dietitians;”;

(iii) after sub paragraph (b)(iv)(dd) insert the following sub paragraph—

“(ee) paramedics; or”; and

(iv) after sub paragraph (b)(iv), insert the following sub paragraph—

“(v) the register maintained by the General Optical Council in pursuance of Section 7(a) of the Opticians Act 1989;”.

(1)

Words were substituted by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (Consequential Provision-Social Workers) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/1479 Sch.1(1) para.43)

(2)

See 1989 c.44. Section 7 was amended by S.I. 2005/848