The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations 1989

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–

“the Act” means the National Health Service Act 1977;

“accepted disablement” means physical or mental injury or disease which is accepted by the Secretary of State as attributable to or aggravated by service in the armed forces of the Crown or such other service as he may determine;

“appliance” means a listed appliance within the meaning of section 41 of the Act but does not include a contraceptive appliance;

“chemist” includes any person, other than a doctor, providing pharmaceutical services;

“Committee” means Family Practitioner Committee;

“doctor” means a registered medical practitioner;

“drugs” includes medicines, but does not include contraceptive substances;

“elastic hosiery” means an above-knee, below-knee or thigh stocking;

“exemption” means any remission granted under these regulations from charges payable under these regulations;

“exemption certificate” has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 7(1);

“medical list” means the list of doctors prepared under regulation 4(1) of the Medical Services Regulations;

“the Medical Services Regulations” means the National Health Service (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 1974(1);

“oxygen concentrator” and “oxygen concentrator services” have the meanings assigned to them by regulation 26D of the Medical Services Regulations(2);

“patient” means–

(a)

any person for whose treatment a doctor is responsible under his terms of service;

(b)

any person who applies to a chemist for the provision of pharmaceutical services including a person who applies on behalf of another person; or

(c)

a person who pays or undertakes to pay on behalf of another person a charge for which these regulations provide;

“pre-payment certificate” has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 8(1);

“prescription form” means a form on which the provision of pharmaceutical services may be ordered by–

(a)

a doctor in pursuance of a health authority’s functions; or

(b)

a doctor or dental practitioner under the provisions of their terms of service,

and which contains on its reverse side a form of declaration of entitlement to exemption;

“terms of service” in relation to doctors and chemists has the meaning assigned to it in regulation 2(1) of the Medical Services Regulations and in relation to dental practitioners the meaning assigned to it in regulation 2(1) of the National Health Service (General Dental Services) Regulations 1973(3);

“the Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges Regulations” means the National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 1988(4);

“treatment” includes examination and diagnosis.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations the supply against an order on one prescription form–

(a) of quantities of the same drug in more than one container shall be treated as the supply of only one quantity of a drug;

(b) of more than one appliance of the same type, except in the case of elastic hosiery and tights, or of two or more component parts of the same appliance shall be treated as the supply of only one appliance.

(3) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule is a reference to the regulation in, or 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.

(1)

S.I. 1974/160, relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1975/719, 1982/1283, 1985/39 and 1053.

(2)

See S.I. 1985/955, regulation 2(5).

(3)

S.I. 1973/1468, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(4)

S.I. 1988/551.