General Ophthalmic Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

Interpretation N.I.

2.  In these Regulations —

“the Charges Regulations” means the Charges for Drugs and Appliances Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(1);

[F1 “the Disciplinary Procedures Regulations” means the Health and Social Care (Disciplinary Procedures) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016]

“the Order” means the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972;

“the Remission Regulations” means the Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004(2);

[F2 “the 2003 Order” means the Health and Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement and Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003;]

“authority” has the meaning given to it by the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(3);

[F3 “bankruptcy restrictions order” means an order made under Schedule 2A to the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 or Schedule 4A to the Insolvency Act 1986;]

F4 ...

“capital limit” means the amount prescribed for the purposes of section 130(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992(4) as it applies to income support;

“child tax credit” means child tax credit under section 8 of the Tax Credits Act 2002(5);

“Committee” means the Ophthalmic Committee, constituted under regulation 3;

“complex appliance” means an optical appliance at least one lens of which —

(a)

has a power in any one meridian of plus or minus 10 or more dioptres, or

(b)

is a prism controlled bifocal lens;

“contractor” means a person who has undertaken to provide general ophthalmic services and whose name is included in the ophthalmic list;

[F2 “day care setting” has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the 2003 Order;]

[F5 “debt relief restrictions order” means an order made under Schedule 2ZB to the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, or Schedule 4ZB to the Insolvency Act 1986;]

“deputy” means an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician, who is included in the ophthalmic list and assists in the provision of general ophthalmic services;

“director” means —

(a)

a director of a body corporate; or

(b)

a member of the body of persons controlling a body corporate;

“disability element” means the disability element of working tax credit as specified in section 11(3) of the Tax Credits Act 2002;

“doctor” means a medical practitioner;

“eligible person” means a person who, in accordance with regulation 16, may have his sight tested under general ophthalmic services;

F6 ...

[F7 “Family Practitioner Services Independent Appeal Panel” means the body established under regulation 3 of the Health and Social Care (Family Practitioner Services Independent Appeal Panel) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022;]

“general ophthalmic services” means the services which a contractor must provide pursuant to paragraph 14 of the terms of service;

“income-based jobseekers allowance” has the meaning given to it by Article 3(4) of the Jobseekers (Northern Ireland) Order 1995(6);

“income support” means income support under Part VII of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992 and includes personal expenses addition, special transitional addition and transitional addition as defined in regulation 2(1) of the Income Support (Transitional) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987(7);

“juvenile justice centre” has the meaning given by Article 51(1) of the Criminal Justice (Children) (Northern Ireland) Order 1998(8);

“Local Optical Committee” means the committee recognised by the Department under Article 55 of the Order;

[F2 “medical card” means a card issued to a person by the RBSO in a form approved by the Department for the purpose of enabling that person to obtain or establish a title to receive primary medical services, including maternity medical services, general dental services or general ophthalmic services;]

“mobile practice” means a contractor who has made arrangements with [F8 the Department] to provide mobile services and does not have practice premises in its area;

[F9 “mobile services” means general ophthalmic services provided at—

(a)

a day care setting;

(b)

a nursing home;

(c)

a residential care home; or

(d)

the patient’s home, where the patient is unable to leave it unaccompanied because of physical or mental illness or disability,

which a contractor has made arrangements with [F8 the Department] to provide;]

“notice of entitlement” means a notice issued under regulation 8 of the Remission Regulations for the purposes of remission of charges under the Order;

[F2 “nursing home” has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the 2003 Order;]

“ophthalmic hospital” includes an ophthalmic department of a hospital;

“ophthalmic list” means the list prepared by the Agency under regulation 8;

“ophthalmic medical practitioner” means a doctor whose qualifications have in accordance with regulation 6 or regulation 7 been approved as being prescribed qualifications;

“Ophthalmic Qualifications Committee” means the Advisory Committee appointed under Article 25 of the Order after consultation with F10 ... such organisation as may be recognised by the Department as representing medical practitioners, for the purposes of approving —

(a)

ophthalmic hospitals, academic degrees, academic or post graduate courses in ophthalmology and appointments affording special opportunities for acquiring the necessary skill and experience of the kind required for the provision of general ophthalmic services; and

(b)

the qualifications of doctors for the purpose of the general ophthalmic services;

“optician” means an ophthalmic optician;

“patient” means a person for whom a contractor has agreed to provide general ophthalmic services;

“pension credit guarantee credit” shall be construed in accordance with sections 1 and 2 of the State Pension Credit Act (Northern Ireland) 2002(9);

F6 ...

“qualifications” includes qualifications as to experience;

“qualifying full-time education” has the meaning given to it by Article 62(4) of the Order;

“relevant income” has the same meaning as in section 7(3) of the Tax Credits Act 2002;

[F2 “residential care home” has the same meaning as in Article 2 of the 2003 Order;]

“severe disability element” means the severe disability element of working tax credit specified in section 11(6)(d) of the Tax Credits Act 2002;

“sight test form” means a form which, in accordance with the Statement, is to be completed for the purposes of payments in respect of a sight test;

“suspended by direction of the Tribunal” means suspended as respects the provision of general ophthalmic services to patients by a direction of the Tribunal made pursuant to paragraph 9(3) or paragraph 10(1) of Schedule 11 to the Order or to any provisions in force in England, Scotland or Wales corresponding to those provisions;

“terms of service” means the terms set out in Schedule 1;

“the Statement” has the meaning assigned to it in regulation 12(1);

“working tax credit” means working tax credit under section 10 of the Tax Credits Act 2002.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in reg. 2 inserted (1.4.2016) by The Health and Social Care (Disciplinary Procedures) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/104), regs. 1(1), 14(3)(a)

F2 Words in reg. 2 inserted (3.2.2014) by The General Ophthalmic Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 (S.R. 2014/2), regs. 1(1), 2(4)

F3 Words in reg. 2 inserted (21.4.2015) by The Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (Consequential Amendments) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 (S.R. 2015/159), art. 1, Sch. para. 44(2)

F4 Words in reg. 2 omitted (1.4.2022) by virtue of The Health and Social Care Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 (General Dental and Ophthalmic Services Consequential and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/104), regs. 1(1), 4(2)(a)

F5 Words in reg. 2 inserted (7.3.2016) by The Debt Relief Act (Northern Ireland) 2010 (Consequential Amendments) Order (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/108), art. 1, Sch. para. 51(2)

F6 Words in reg. 2 omitted (1.4.2009) by virtue of The General Ophthalmic Services (Amendment No. 2) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009 (S.R. 2009/152), regs. 1(1), 2

F7 Words in reg. 2 inserted (1.4.2022) by The Health and Social Care (Family Practitioner Services Independent Appeal Panel) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/109), reg. 1, Sch. para. 23(1)

F8 Words in reg. 2 substituted (1.4.2022) by The Health and Social Care Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 (General Dental and Ophthalmic Services Consequential and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/104), regs. 1(1), 4(2)(b)

F9 Words in reg. 2 substituted (3.2.2014) by The General Ophthalmic Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 (S.R. 2014/2), regs. 1(1), 2(3)

F10 Words in reg. 2 omitted (1.4.2022) by virtue of The Health and Social Care Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 (General Dental and Ophthalmic Services Consequential and Miscellaneous Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2022 (S.R. 2022/104), regs. 1(1), 4(2)(c)

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 2 in operation at 9.11.2007, see reg. 1

(1)

S.R. 1997 No. 382

(2)

S.R. 2004 No. 91

(3)

S.I. 1995/755 (N.I. 2)

(4)

1992 c.7; regulation 45 of the Income Support (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1987 (S.R. 1987 No. 459) as amended by regulation 2(4) of S.R. 2005 No. 424 has prescribed the amount of £16,000 as the capital limit

(5)

2002 c. 21

(6)

S.I. 1995/2705 (N.I.15); Article 3(4) was amended by paragraph 3(4)(a) of Schedule 7 to the Welfare and Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/3147 (N.I. 11))

(7)

S.R. 1987 No. 460

(8)

S.I. 1998/1504 (N.I. 9)

(9)

2002 c.14