These Regulations further amend the General Ophthalmic Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1986 (“the principal Regulations”) which provide for the arrangements under which ophthalmic medical practitioners and ophthalmic opticians provide General Ophthalmic Services.

In these Regulations, regulation 5 is updated to take account of changes in the qualifications required by ophthalmic medical practitioners. Regulation 15, which sets out who is eligible for free sight tests, has a new category added for persons aged 60 or more. It also extends the category relating to glaucoma to include those who are advised by ophthalamologists (as defined in regulation 15(2A)) that they are predisposed to developing glaucoma.