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The National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2006

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Regulations 2(1) and 18

SCHEDULE 1STERMS OF SERVICE

This schedule has no associated Executive Note

InterpretationS

1.  In this Schedule–

(a)the expression “the regulations” means the National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2006;

(b)any reference to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation bearing that number in the regulations;

(c)any reference to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph bearing that number in this Schedule, and any reference in a paragraph to a numbered sub paragraph is a reference to the sub paragraph bearing that number in that paragraph;

(d)other words and expressions have the same meaning as in the Regulations.

Incorporation of provisionsS

2.  Any provisions of the following affecting the rights and obligations of contractors and ophthalmic medical practitioners and opticians assisting in the provision of general ophthalmic services shall form part of the terms of service–

(a)the regulations;

(b)the National Health Service (Tribunal) (Scotland) Regulations 2004 M1;

(c)so much of [F1the National Health Service (Discipline Committees) (Scotland) Regulations 2006] as relates to–

(i)the investigation of questions arising between ophthalmic medical practitioners or opticians and their patients, other investigations to be made by a discipline committee and the action which may be taken by the Board as a result of such investigations, including the withholding of remuneration where there has been a breach of the terms of service;

(ii)appeal to the Scottish Ministers from decisions of the Board;

(iii)the investigation of the excessive–

(aa)undertaking of eye examinations;

(bb)issuing of optical vouchers;

(cc)prescribing of supplements;

(d)regulation 9 of the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Regulations 1998 M2;

(e)the Statement;

(f)the General Optical Council's Rules Relating to Injury of the Eye; and

(g)the College of Optometrist's Code of Ethics and Guidance for Professional Conduct.

Textual Amendments

Marginal Citations

M1S.S.I. 2004/38 as amended by S.S.I. 2004/122 and 271, 2005/335 and 2006/122.

M2S.I. 1998/642. Regulation 9 was amended by S.I. 1999/748.

Certificate of trainingS

3.—(1) Except in the case of a body corporate, an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician providing, or assisting in the provision of, general ophthalmic services shall undertake a course of training in the use of slit lamp biomicroscopy, condensing lens biomicroscopy, applanation tonometry and threshold visual fields from a training provider approved by NHS Education for Scotland and shall provide to the Board a certificate from the provider of that training that that person has completed the training satisfactorily

(2) Except in the case of a body corporate, any application for inclusion in the Ophthalmic List must be accompanied by such a certificate.

(3) Except in the case of a body corporate, in the case of any person to whom regulation 26(6) applies, that person shall provide such a certificate to the Board no later than 30 June 2006, or by such later date as the Board considers appropriate in the circumstances of the case if it thinks it is not reasonably practicable for that person to provide such certificate by 30 June 2006

Premises at which general ophthalmic services are to be providedS

4.—(1) Subject to sub paragraph (2), a contractor shall provide general ophthalmic services or cause such services to be provided by an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who assists in the provision of general ophthalmic services [F2at the addresses of all the practice premises which are] included in relation to the contractor in the Ophthalmic List.

(2) An ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician on the Ophthalmic List may, where requested to do so by or on behalf of a patient, who is–

(a)unable to leave home unaccompanied because of physical or mental illness or disability, agree to provide general ophthalmic services or assist in the provision of general ophthalmic services at the place at which the patient normally resides; or

(b)attending a day centre, agree to provide general ophthalmic services or assist in the provision of general ophthalmic services at that day centre.

Textual Amendments

VisitsS

5.—(1) In the case of a mobile practice, a contractor shall give the Board notice in accordance with sub paragraph (2) of any visits which the contractor or an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who assists that contractor in the provision of general ophthalmic services intends to make to provide general ophthalmic services to at least three persons at day centres or in residential centres in the Board's area.

(2) The contractor shall notify the Board at least one month in advance of the month in which the contractor or an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who assists that contractor in the provision of general ophthalmic services intends to visit any establishment in the Board's area and of the intervals at which the contractor intends that return visits shall be made.

Premises and equipmentS

6.—[F3(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), a contractor shall provide proper, sufficient and appropriate premises, equipment and procedures for the provision of general ophthalmic services at the practice premises.

(2) A contractor who provides general ophthalmic services at a mobile surgery shall provide proper, sufficient and appropriate mobile surgery equipment and procedures for the provision of general ophthalmic services.]

(3) Subject to sub paragraph (4), a contractor, on receipt of a written request from the Board, shall admit at all reasonable times for the purposes of inspecting such accommodation or equipment and reviewing procedures an ophthalmic officer or any authorised officer of the Scottish Ministers or the Board or member of the Board.

(4) In the case of a mobile practice, the contractor, on receipt of a written request from the Board to do so, shall arrange for an ophthalmic officer or any authorised officer of the Scottish Ministers or the Board or member of the Board to be allowed to inspect at a reasonable time the facilities and equipment that the contractor or an ophthalmic medical practitioner or opticians who assists the provider in the provision of general ophthalmic services uses.

Textual Amendments

NoticesS

7.  A contractor shall secure that at each place at which the contractor provides general ophthalmic services or an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician assists the contractor in the provision of general ophthalmic services there is prominently displayed [F4notices and leaflets] supplied or approved by the Board [F5or the Agency], indicating the services available under general ophthalmic services and indicating to which descriptions of the contractor's patients a payment may be made under the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Regulations 1998.

Textual Amendments

RecordsS

8.—(1) A contractor or ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who assists the contractor in the provision of general ophthalmic services shall keep proper, complete, accurate and up-to-date records in respect of each patient to whom general ophthalmic services are provided, giving appropriate details of eye examinations carried out.

(2) A contractor or ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who assists the contractor in the provision of general ophthalmic services may keep the records referred to in sub paragraph (1) in computerised form.

(3) A contractor shall retain all such records for a period of 7 years.

(4) A contractor shall, when requested to do so by any authorised officer of the Scottish Ministers, the Agency or the Board during the period in which the contractor is required to retain such records–

(a)produce them to such authorised officer of the Scottish Ministers, the Agency or the Board; or

(b)send them to such authorised officer of the Scottish Ministers, the Agency or the Board within such period as may be specified by the authorised officer not being less than 14 days from the date of request.

DeputiesS

9.—(1) [F6An ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician may arrange for eye examinations to be carried out on his or her behalf by another ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician], provided that such other ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician is included in the Ophthalmic List of the Board for the area in which such eye examinations are to be carried out.

(2) Any contractor who makes an arrangement for the regular provision of services by a deputy in terms of [F7sub-paragraph] (1) shall notify the Board of the arrangements.

Textual Amendments

EmployeesS

10.—F8(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2) An optician [F9or ophthalmic medical practitioner] who employs a person to carry out eye examinations shall employ only–

(a)another optician [F10or ophthalmic medical practitioner] on the Ophthalmic List of the Board for the area in which such eye examinations are to be carried out; or

(b)a person acting under his [F11or her] continuous personal supervision who is authorised to carry out eye examinations by rules made under section 24(3) of the Opticians Act 1989.

(3) Any contractor who makes an arrangement for the regular provision of services by an employee in terms of [F12sub-paragraphs] (1) or (2) shall notify the Board of the arrangement.

(4) In this paragraph “employee” includes, in the case of a body corporate, a director and “employ” is to be interpreted accordingly.

Textual Amendments

ComplaintsS

11.—(1) Subject to sub paragraphs (2) and (3), a contractor shall establish and operate in accordance with this paragraph, a procedure (in this paragraph and in [F13paragraph] 12 referred to as a “complaints procedure”) to deal with any complaints made by or on behalf of the patients and former patients of the contractor or an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who assists the contractor in the provision of general ophthalmic services.

(2) The complaints procedure to be established by a contractor may be such that it also deals with complaints made in relation to one or more other contractors or ophthalmic medical practitioners or opticians who assist the contractor in the provision of general ophthalmic services.

(3) The complaints procedure to be established by a contractor who provides general ophthalmic services or causes general ophthalmic services to be provided from more than one set of [F14practice] premises may be such that it relates to all those [F14practice] premises together.

(4) A complaints procedure shall apply to complaints made in relation to any matter reasonably connected with the provision or assistance in provision of general ophthalmic services and within the responsibility or control of–

(a)the contractor;

(b)where the contractor is a body corporate, any of its directors or former directors;

(c)a former partner of the contractor;

(d)any other person (being an optician, an ophthalmic medical practitioner or a person authorised to test sight by rules made under section 24(3) of the Opticians Act 1989) who is either employed by the contractor or engaged as his [F15or her] deputy;

(e)any employee of the contractor other than one falling within paragraph (d);

(f)when the contractor is a limited liability partnership , a member or former member;

(g)an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who assists the contractor in the provision of general ophthalmic services,

and in this paragraph and paragraph 12, references to complaints are to complaints falling within this sub paragraph.

(5) A complaint may be made on behalf of a patient or former patient with his [F15or her] consent, or–

(a)where the patient is a child under the age of 16 years–

(i)by either parent, or in the absence of both parents, the guardian or other adult person who has care of the child, or

(ii)in the care of an authority within the meaning of section 17(6) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, or in the care of a voluntary organisation, by that authority or voluntary organisation; or

(b)where the person is incapable of making a complaint, by a relative or other adult person who has an interest in his [F15or her] welfare.

(6) Where a patient has died, a complaint may be made by a relative or other adult person who had an interest in his [F15or her] welfare or, where the patient was as described in head (a)(ii) of sub paragraph (5), by the authority or voluntary organisation.

(7) A complaints procedure shall comply with the following requirements–

(a)the contractor shall specify a person (who need not be connected with the contractor and who, in the case of an individual, may be specified by his [F15or her] job title) to be responsible for receiving and investigating all complaints;

(b)all complaints shall be–

(i)recorded in writing,

(ii)acknowledged, either orally or in writing, within the period of 3 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas Day, New Year's Day and other public or local holidays agreed with the Board) beginning with the day on which the complaint was received by the person specified in head (a), or where that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable, and

(iii)properly investigated;

(c)within the period of 10 days (excluding Saturdays, Sundays, Christmas Day, New Year's Day and any other public or local holidays agreed with the Board) beginning on the day on which the complaint was received by the person specified in head (a), or where that is not possible, as soon as reasonably practicable, the complainant shall be given a written summary of the investigation and its conclusions;

(d)where the investigation of the complaint requires consideration of the patient's F16...records, the person specified under head (a) shall inform the patient or person acting on his [F15or her] behalf if the investigation will involve disclosure of information contained in those records to a person other than the contractor, or a director, partner, deputy or employee of the contractor; and

(e)the contractor shall keep a [F17record of complaints] and copies of all correspondence relating to complaints, but [F18the record of complaints] shall be kept separate from patients' F19... records.

(8) At each of the [F14practice] premises at which the contractor provides general ophthalmic services or causes general ophthalmic services to be provided the contractor shall provide information about the complaints procedure which the contractor operates and give the name (or title) and address of the person specified in sub paragraph (7)(a).

Textual Amendments

Co-operation with investigationsS

12.—(1) A contractor or an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who assists the contractor in the provision of general ophthalmic services shall cooperate with any investigation of a complaint by the Board in accordance with the procedures which it operates in accordance with directions given under section 2(5) of the Act, whether the investigation follows one under the contractor's complaints procedure or not.

(2) The co operation required by sub paragraph (1) includes–

(a)answering questions reasonably put to the contractor by the Board;

(b)providing any information relating to the complaint reasonably required by the Board; and

(c)attending any meeting to consider the complaint (if held at a reasonably accessible place and at a reasonable hour, and due notice has been given), if the contractor's presence or the presence of an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who assists that contractor in the provision of general ophthalmic services at the meeting is reasonably required by the Board.

PaymentsS

13.—(1) Any claim by a contractor for fees in respect of the provision of general ophthalmic services shall be made by completing or securing the completion of an eye examination form and sending it to the Agency within 6 months after the date of completion of such provision of the services.

(2) Any such claim shall be signed–

(a)if the service was provided on behalf of a contractor by a deputy or employee who is also a contractor, by the deputy or employee who shall give the name of the contractor on whose behalf the service was provided;

(b)if the service was provided on the contractor's behalf by a person whose name is included in the second part of the Ophthalmic List by the person who assisted in the provision of general ophthalmic services who shall also give the name of the contractor on whose behalf the service was provided; and

(c)in other cases by the contractor.

(3) A signatory shall sign any such claim in ink with his or her initials or forename and with his or her surname in his [F20or her] own handwriting and not by means of a stamp.

(4) Where an eye examination is undertaken by an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who assists the contractor in the provision of general ophthalmic services that ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician shall complete a claim for remuneration in respect of that eye examination which–

(a)is separate from any claim form in respect of eye examinations given by the contractor personally; and

(b)identifies the ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who undertook the eye examination and his or her status as an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who assists the contractor in the provision of general ophthalmic services.

(5) Except as provided in the regulations, in the Statement, or in the National Health Service (Charges for Overseas Visitors) (Scotland) Regulations 1989 M3, or in sub paragraph (6), a contractor shall not demand or accept or cause to be demanded or accepted from any patient or from other persons the payment of any fee or other remuneration in respect of the provision of general ophthalmic services.

(6) A contractor shall be entitled to demand and recover from a patient or person having charge of a patient a sum in respect of loss of remunerative time resulting from a failure by that patient to keep an appointment.

(7) A contractor shall not demand or accept or cause to be demanded or accepted from the Agency the payment of any fee or other remuneration in respect of any item of service–

(a)which has not been provided under the general ophthalmic services; or

(b)for which a claim has already been submitted to the Agency.

Textual Amendments

Marginal Citations

M3S.I. 1989/364, amended by S.I. 1992/411, 1994/1770, 1998/251, S.S.I. 2004/369, and S.S.I. 2006/141 with effect from 1st April 2006.

Eye examinationsS

14.—(1) An ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who accepts in accordance with these regulations–

(a)an application from a patient for a primary eye examination; or

(b)an application from a patient for a supplementary eye examination F21...

shall carry out an eye examination.

[F22(1A) An ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who accepts in accordance with these regulations an application under sub-paragraph (1) shall carry out each specific mandatory test and procedure specified in Schedule 3 or Schedule 4 as appropriate unless—

(a)the ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician considers that the patient has a physical or mental condition which would make the carrying out of one or more specified test(s) or procedure(s) clinically inappropriate, or

(b)the patient has refused to undertake one or more specified test(s) or procedure(s).]

F23(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3) Where an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician carries out a sight test, he or she shall fulfil any duty imposed on him or her by, or in regulations made under, the Opticians Act 1989.

(4) Where an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician is of the opinion that a patient whose eyes he or she has examined in accordance with sub paragraph (1)–

(a)shows signs of injury, disease or abnormality in the eye or elsewhere which may require medical treatment; or

(b)is not likely to attain a satisfactory standard of vision notwithstanding the application of corrective lenses,

he or she shall, if appropriate, and with the consent of the patient–

[F24(i)refer the patient either to his or her doctor or to an ophthalmic hospital;]

(ii)[F25in the case of a referral to an ophthalmic hospital,] inform the patient's doctor or GP practice that he or she has done so; and

(iii)give the patient a written statement that he or she has done so, with details of the referral.

F26(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6) A prescription for glasses issued following an eye examination which includes a sight test shall be completed by the method recommended in Appendix A to British Standard [F272738-3:2004] (Glossary of Terms relating to Ophthalmic Lenses and Spectacle Frames) published by the British Standards Institution, as effective on the date of its publication, and shall comply with any requirements as to its form specified in the Statement for the purposes of payment in respect of the eye examination.

(7) An ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician shall carry out a maximum of 20 eye examinations in any working day.

(8) Following a primary eye examination or a supplementary eye examination the ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician who carried out the examination shall give a statement of the outcome of the examination to the patient.

Textual Amendments

Use of disqualified nameS

15.—(1) Subject to sub paragraph (2), a contractor shall not use in any manner whatsoever the name or part of the name, either alone or in combination with any other words or letters, of or used by, any person so long as that person is disqualified from inclusion in any Ophthalmic List.

(2) Nothing in sub paragraph (1) shall prevent a contractor other than a body corporate from using his [F28or her] own name or being a body corporate, from using the name by which it is enrolled in the register maintained pursuant to the provisions of the Opticians Act 1989.

Textual Amendments

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