National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2002

Prospective

Amendment of regulation 2 E+W

2.—(1) In regulation 2 (interpretation)—

(a) insert the following definitions in the appropriate alphabetical positions—

““Abolition of the Tribunal Regulations” means the Abolition of the National Health Service Tribunal (Consequential Provisions) Regulations 2002(1);”;

““corresponding decision” means a decision of the Tribunal in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland to impose a local or national disqualification on an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician;”;

““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 of service, and “employed” and “employer” shall be construed accordingly;”;

““equivalent body” means a Health Authority in England, a Health Board or an NHS Trust in Scotland or a Health and Social Services Board in Northern Ireland;”;

““equivalent lists” means lists kept by an equivalent body;”;

““FHSAA” means the Family Health Services Appeal Authority constituted under section 49S of the Act(2);”;

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

““licensing or regulatory body” means a body such as the General Medical Council or the General Optical Council that licenses or regulates any profession of which the ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician is or has been a member and includes an approved training institution for ophthalmic medical practitioners or opticians;”;

““lists” means lists referred to in section 49N(1)(a) to (c);”;

““Medical Supplementary List” means a list prepared by a Health Authority in accordance with section 43D of the Act, of doctors approved by the Health Authority for the purposes of assisting in the provision of General Medical Services;”;

““a national disqualification” means—

(a)

a decision made by the FHSAA in relation to an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician under section 49N of the Act,

(b)

a decision under provisions in force in Scotland or Northern Ireland corresponding to section 49N of the Act,

(c)

a decision 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,

(d)

a decision by the Tribunal”;

““the National Health Service Counter Fraud Service” means the service provided by the Secretary of State to deal with inquiries and investigations in relation to any allegations of fraud or corruption in the health service(3);”;

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

““professional registration number” means the number against the ophthalmic medical practitioner’s or optician’s name in the register maintained by the General Medical Council or the General Optical Council;”;

““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;”;

““suspended” means—

(a)

suspended by a Health Authority under sections 49I or 49J of the Act, or under Regulations made under sections 28DA or 43D of the Act, or section 8ZA of the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997(4),

(b)

suspended by the Tribunal,

(c)

in relation to Scotland or Northern Ireland, suspended under provisions in force corresponding to those in section 49I or 49J of the Act,

and shall be treated as including a case where a person is treated as suspended by a Health Authority in Wales by virtue of Regulation 6(2) of the Abolition of the Tribunal Regulations,

and “suspends” and “suspension” shall be construed accordingly;”;

(b) for the definition of “the Tribunal” substitute “the Tribunal” means the Tribunal constituted under section 46 of the Act(5) for England and Wales;”; and

(c) omit the definitions of “Committee” and “suspended by direction of the Tribunal”.

(2) In the provisions of the principal Regulations listed in the Schedule to these Regulations, for “the Committee” wherever it appears substitute “Health Authority”.

Commencement Information

I1 Reg. 2 in force at 26.8.2002, see reg. 1(1)

(1)

S.I. 2002/1920

(2)

Section 49S was inserted by the Health and Social Care Act 2001 (c. 15), section 27(1).

(3)

The National Health Service Counter Fraud Service may be contacted by writing to them at Hannibal House, Elephant and Castle, London SE1 6TE, or e-mailing them on [e-mail].

(4)

1997 c. 46.

(5)

Section 46 was substituted by the Health Act 1999 c. 8.