The National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services Supplementary List) and (General Ophthalmic Services Amendment and Consequential Amendment) Regulations 2005

Criteria for a decision on removal

11.—(1) Where a Primary Care Trust is considering whether to remove an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician from its supplementary list under regulation 10(3) and (4)(c) (“an unsuitability case”), it shall—

(a) consider any information relating to him which it has received in accordance with any provision of regulation 9;

(b) consider any information held by the Secretary of State as to any record about past or current investigations or proceedings involving or related to him; and

(c) in reaching its decision, take into consideration the matters set out in paragraph (2).

(2) The matters referred to in paragraph (1) are—

(a) the nature of any offence, investigation or incident;

(b) the length of time since any such offence, incident, conviction or investigation;

(c) whether there are other offences, incidents or investigations to be considered;

(d) any action taken or penalty imposed by any licensing or regulatory body, the police or the courts as a result of any such offence, incident or investigation;

(e) the relevance of any offence, incident or investigation to his assisting in the provision of general ophthalmic services and any likely risk to any patients or to public finances;

(f) whether any criminal offence was a sexual offence for the purposes of Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003(1), or if it had been committed in England and Wales, would have been such an offence;

(g) whether he has been refused admittance to, conditionally included in, removed or contingently removed or is currently suspended from, any list or any equivalent list, and if so, the facts relating to the matter which led to such action and the reasons given by the Primary Care Trust or equivalent body for such action; and

(h) whether he was at the time, has in the preceding six months been, or was at the time of the originating events, a director of a body corporate, which was refused admission to, conditionally included in, removed or contingently removed from any list or equivalent list or is currently suspended from any such list, and if so, what the facts were in each such case and the reasons given by the Primary Care Trust or equivalent body in each case for such action.

(3) Where a Primary Care Trust is considering whether to remove an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician from its supplementary list under regulation 10(3) and (4)(b), it shall consider—

(a) any information relating to him which it has received in accordance with any provision of regulation 9;

(b) any information held by the Secretary of State as to any record about past or current investigations or proceedings involving or related to the ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician; and

(c) the matters set out in paragraph (4).

(4) The matters referred to in paragraph (3)(c) are—

(a) the nature of any incidents of fraud;

(b) the length of time since the last incident of fraud occurred, and since any investigation into it was concluded;

(c) whether there are any other incidents of fraud, or other criminal offences to be considered;

(d) any action taken by any licensing, regulatory or other body, the police or the courts as a result of any such offence, investigation or incident;

(e) the relevance of any investigation into an incident of fraud to his assisting in the provision of general ophthalmic services and the likely risk to patients or to public finances;

(f) whether he has been refused admittance to, conditionally included in, removed or contingently removed or is currently suspended from, any list or any equivalent list, and, if so, the facts relating to the matter which led to such action and the reasons given by the Primary Care Trust or equivalent body for such action; and

(g) whether he was at the time, has in the preceding six months been, or was at the time of the originating events, a director of a body corporate, which was refused admission to, conditionally included in, removed or contingently removed from, any list or equivalent list, or is currently suspended from any such list, and if so, what the facts were in each such case and the reasons given by the Primary Care Trust or equivalent body in each case.

(5) Where a Primary Care Trust is considering removal of an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician from its supplementary list under regulation 10(3) and (4)(a) (“an efficiency case”), it shall—

(a) consider any information relating to him which it has received in accordance with any provision of regulation 9;

(b) consider any information held by the Secretary of State as to any record about past or current investigations or proceedings involving or related to the ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician; and

(c) in reaching its decision, take into account the matters referred to in paragraph (6).

(6) The matters referred to in paragraph (5)(c) are—

(a) the nature of any incident which was prejudicial to the efficiency of the general ophthalmic services that the ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician assisted in providing;

(b) the length of time since the last incident occurred and since any investigation into it was concluded;

(c) any action taken by any licensing, regulatory or other body, the police or the courts as a result of any such incident;

(d) the nature of the incident and whether there is a likely risk to patients;

(e) whether he has previously failed to supply information, make a declaration or comply with an undertaking required by these Regulations or the Ophthalmic Regulations;

(f) whether he has ever failed to comply with a request by the Primary Care Trust to undertake an assessment by the NCAA;

(g) whether he has been refused admittance to, conditionally included in, removed or contingently removed or is currently suspended from, any list or equivalent list, and if so, the facts relating to the matter which led to such action and the reasons given by the Primary Care Trust or the equivalent body for such action; and

(h) whether he was at the time, has in the preceding six months been, or was at the time of the originating events, a director of a body corporate, which was refused admission to, conditionally included in, removed or contingently removed from any list or equivalent list, or is currently suspended from any such list, and if so, what the facts were in each such case and the reasons given by the Primary Care Trust or equivalent body in each case for such action.

(7) In making any decision under regulation 10, the Primary Care Trust shall take into account the overall effect of any relevant incidents and offences relating to the ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician of which it is aware, whichever condition it relies on.

(8) When making a decision on any condition in regulation 10(4), the Primary Care Trust shall state in its decision on which condition it relies.

(1)

2003 c. 42.