Citation, commencement and interpretation1.

(1)

These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Scotland) Regulations 1989 and shall come into force on 5th April 1989.

(2)

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Act” means the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978;

“child” means a person who is—

(a)

under the age of sixteen; or

(b)

under the age of nineteen and treated for the purposes of the Child Benefit Act 19752 or the Child Benefit (Northern Ireland) Order 19753 as receiving full time education at an educational establishment recognised under that Act or that Order;

“Continental Shelf”, except in a reference to a designated area of the Continental Shelf, means the sea-bed and subsoil of the submarine area (other than in the Baltic or Mediterranean Seas, including the Adriatic and Aegean, or the Black Sea) adjacent to the coasts, lying north of the latitude of 25 degrees north and between the longitude of 30 degrees west and 35 degrees east, of the territory (including islands) of—

(a)

any country situated on the Continent of Europe, or

(b)

the Republic of Ireland,

where the submarine area is outside the seaward limits of the territorial limits of those countries and the Republic of Ireland and is an area with respect to which the exercise by any of them of sovereign rights in accordance with international law is recognised by Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom;

“designated area of the Continental Shelf” means any area which is for the time being designated by an Order in Council under the Continental Shelf Act 19644 as an area within which the rights of the United Kingdom with respect to the sea-bed and subsoil and their natural resources may be exercised;

“Health Board” means a Health Board constituted under section 2 of the Act;

“member of the family”, in relation to a national of a Member State or a stateless person or refugee entitled to receive treatment by virtue of regulations made by the Council of the European Communities under Article 51 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, means a member of the family as defined for the purpose of such regulations5;

F1“Member State”means a State which is a Contracting Party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area F2 but until that Agreement comes into force in relation to Liechtenstein does not include the State of Liechtenstein;

“overseas visitor” means a person not ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom;

“reciprocal agreement” means arrangements mutually agreed between the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of a country or territory outside the United Kingdom for providing health care;

“refugee” means a person who is a refugee within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees 19516 and Article 1 of the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees 19677 and any other person taking refuge in the territory of a Member State with leave of the Government of that State;
“services forming part of the health service” means accommodation, services and other facilities provided under section 3(1) of the Act (the Secretary of State’s duty to provide accommodation and services) other than accommodation and services made available under section 57 of the Act8 (accommodation and service s for private resident and non-resident patients);

“ship or vessel” includes hovercraft;

“stateless person” has the meaning assigned to it in Article 1 of the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons 1954 9;

“treatment” includes medical, dental and nursing services required for the care of women who are pregnant or in childbirth or for the prevention or diagnosis of illness;

“treatment the need for which arose during the visit” means diagnosis of symptoms or signs occurring for the first time after the visitor’s arrival in the United Kingdom and any other treatment which, in the opinion of a medical or dental practitioner employed by, or under contract with, a Health Board, is required promptly for a condition which arose after the visitor’s arrival in the United Kingdom, or became, or but for treatment would be likely to become, acutely exacerbated after such arrival.

(3)

In calculating for the purpose of any provision of these Regulations a period of residence in the United Kingdom, any interruption by reason of temporary absence of not more than three months shall be disregarded.

(4)

Unless the context otherwise requires, in these Regulations any reference to a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation in or, as the case may be, the Schedule to these Regulations which bears that number, and any reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph bearing that number in that regulation.