The National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services Supplementary List) and (General Ophthalmic Services Amendment and Consequential Amendment) Regulations 2005

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Part—

“Abolition of the Tribunal Regulations” means the Abolition of the National Health Service Tribunal (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2001(1);

“Abolition of the Tribunal (Wales) Regulations” means the Abolition of the National Health Service Tribunal (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2002(2);

“director” means—

(a)

a director of a body corporate; or

(b)

a member of the body of persons controlling a body corporate (whether or not a limited liability partnership);

“employment” means any employment, whether paid or unpaid and whether under a contract for services or a contract of service, and “employed” and “employer” shall be construed accordingly;

“equivalent body” means—

(a)

a Local Health Board in Wales;

(b)

a Health Board or an NHS trust in Scotland;

(c)

a Health and Social Services Board in Northern Ireland;

(d)

in relation to any time prior to 1st October 2002, a Health Authority in England; or

(e)

in relation to any time prior to 1st April 2003, a Health Authority in Wales;

“equivalent list” means a list kept by an equivalent body;

“FHSAA” means the Family Health Services Appeal Authority constituted under section 49S(3);

“fraud case” means a case where a person satisfies the second condition for removal from the ophthalmic list, set out in section 49F(3)(4) or, by virtue of section 49H, is treated as doing so;

“general ophthalmic services” means the services which a person whose name is included in an ophthalmic list has undertaken to provide, pursuant to paragraph 10 of Schedule 1 to the Ophthalmic Regulations;

“licensing or regulatory body” means a body that licenses or regulates any profession of which the ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician is, or has been a member, including a body regulating or licensing the education, training or qualifications of that profession, and includes any body which licences or regulates any such profession, its education, training or qualifications, outside the United Kingdom;

“list”, unless the context otherwise requires, means—

(a)

a list referred to in section 49N(1)(a) to (c);

(b)

a list of persons undertaking to provide general medical services prepared in accordance with regulations under section 29, as the list existed on or before 31st March 2004;

(c)

a list of persons approved by a Primary Care Trust for the purpose of assisting in the provision of general medical services prepared in accordance with regulations under section 43D(1) as the list existed on or before 31st March 2004; or

(d)

a services list referred to in section 8ZA(1)(a) of the Primary Care Act as the list existed on or before 31st March 2004;

“a national disqualification” means a decision—

(a)

made by the FHSAA to nationally disqualify an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician under section 49N;

(b)

to nationally disqualify an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician under provisions in force in Scotland or Northern Ireland corresponding to section 49N; or

(c)

by the Tribunal, which is treated as a national disqualification by the FHSAA by virtue of regulation 6(4) of the Abolition of the Tribunal Regulations or regulation 6(4)(b) of the Abolition of the Tribunal (Wales) Regulations;

“the NCAA” means the National Clinical Assessment Authority;

“the NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service” means the body with responsibility for policy and operational matters relating to the prevention, detection and investigation of fraud or corruption and the management of security in the National Health Service, established by the Counter Fraud and Security Management Service Establishment and Constitution Order 2002(5);

“notice” means a notice in writing (including electronic) and “notify” shall be construed accordingly;

“ophthalmic list” means the list prepared by a Primary Care Trust under regulation 6 of the Ophthalmic Regulations(6);

“ophthalmic medical practitioner” means a registered medical practitioner, whose qualifications have, in accordance with regulations 3, 4 or 5 of the Ophthalmic Regulations, been approved as prescribed qualifications;

“Ophthalmic Regulations” means the National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) Regulations 1986(7);

“optician” means a natural person, who is an ophthalmic optician;

“Opticians Act” means the Opticians Act 1989(8);

“originating events” means the events that gave rise to the conviction, investigation, proceedings, suspension, refusal to admit, conditional inclusion, removal or contingent removal that took place;

“professional conduct” includes matters relating both to professional conduct and professional performance;

“Primary Care Act” means the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997(9);

“professional registration number” means the number against the ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician’s name in the register;

“the register”, except where the context otherwise requires, means, in relation to an ophthalmic medical practitioner, a register maintained by the General Medical Council or, in relation to an optician, a register maintained by the General Optical Council;

“suspended” means—

(a)

suspended by a Primary Care Trust or equivalent body under section 49I or 49J, regulations made under sections 28DA or 43D or under section 8ZA of the Primary Care Act(10), including these Regulations;

(b)

in relation to Scotland or Northern Ireland, suspended under provisions in force corresponding to those in or made under sections 28DA, 43D, 49I, 49J or under section 8ZA of the Primary Care Act,

and shall be treated as including a case where a person is treated as suspended by a Primary Care Trust or, prior to 1st October 2002, by a Health Authority by virtue of regulation 6(2) of the Abolition of the Tribunal Regulations, or, in Wales, by a Local Health Board or, prior to 1st April 2003, a Health Authority by virtue of regulation 6(2) of the Abolition of the Tribunal (Wales) Regulations, and “suspends” and “suspension” shall be construed accordingly; and

“the Tribunal” means the Tribunal constituted under section 46(11) for England and Wales, and which, except for prescribed cases, had effect in relation to England until 14th December 2001 and in relation to Wales until 26th August 2002(12).

(2) All references in this Part to sections are to sections of the National Health Service Act 1977, except where specified otherwise.

(1)

S.I. 2001/ 3744.

(2)

S.I. 2002/1920.

(3)

Section 49S was inserted by the 2001 Act, section 27(1) and amended by the 2002 Act, Schedule 1, paragraph 18.

(4)

Sections 49F and 49H were inserted by the 2001 Act, section 25; section 49F was amended by the 2002 Act, Schedule 2, paragraph 21.

(5)

S.I. 2002/3039. The NHS Counter Fraud and Security Management Service replaces the National Health Service Counter Fraud Service.

(6)

Regulation 6 was amended by S.I. 2001/414, 3739 and 2002/2469.

(7)

S.I. 1986/975.

(8)

1989 c. 44.

(9)

1997 c. 46.

(10)

Section 8ZA was inserted by the 2001 Act, section 26(2) and amended by the 2002 Act, Schedule 3, paragraph 3.

(11)

Section 46 was revoked by the 2001 Act, s. 67, Schedule 5, paragraph 5 and Schedule 6, part I.

(12)

See S.I. 2001/3738, article 2(5) and (6)(b), which sets out the prescribed cases for England and S.I. 2002/1919, article 2(2) and (3)(b), which sets out the prescribed cases for Wales.