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Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008

Type Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Publication 2008-02-25
State In force
Jurisdiction Northern Ireland
Department Statute Law Database
Source legislation.gov.uk
articles 1
Reform history JSON API

Primary medical services

Persons performing primary medical services: listing subject to conditions

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(3A) Regulations under paragraph (1) may, in particular, also provide for— (a) a person's inclusion or continued inclusion in a list to be subject to conditions determined by a Health and Social Services Board; (b) a Board to vary the conditions or impose different ones; (c) the consequences of failing to comply with a condition (including removal from a list); (d) the review by a Board of decisions made by it by virtue of the regulations. (3B) The imposition of such conditions may be with a view to— (a) preventing any prejudice to the efficiency of the services to which the list relates, or (b) preventing fraud.

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Dental services

Provision of dental services

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(60A) (1) The Department shall, to the extent that it considers necessary to meet all reasonable requirements, ... provide primary dental services ..., or secure their provision .... (2) The Department may (in addition to any other power conferred on it)— (a) provide primary dental services itself ...; (b) make such arrangements for their provision ... as it thinks fit, and may in particular make contractual arrangements with any person. (3) The Department shall publish information about such matters as may be prescribed in relation to the primary dental services provided under this Part. (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (5) Regulations may provide that services of a prescribed description are, or are not, to be regarded as primary dental services for the purposes of this Part. (6) Regulations under this Article may in particular describe services by reference to the manner or circumstances in which they are provided.

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(61) (1) The Department may enter into a contract under which primary dental services are provided in accordance with the following provisions of this Part. (2) A contract under this Article is called in this Order a “general dental services contract”. (3) Subject to any provision made by or under this Part, a general dental services contract may make such provision as may be agreed between the Department and the contractor or contractors in relation to— (a) the services to be provided under the contract, (b) remuneration under the contract, and (c) any other matters. (4) The services to be provided under a general dental services contract may include— (a) services which are not primary dental services; (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (5) In this Part, “contractor”, in relation to a general dental services contract, means any person entering into the contract with the Department . (61A) (1) A general dental services contract shall require the contractor or contractors to provide, for his or their patients, primary dental services of such descriptions as may be prescribed. (2) Regulations under paragraph (1) may in particular prescribe services by reference to the manner or circumstances in which they are provided. (61B) (1) The Department may, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, enter into a general dental services contract with— (a) a dental practitioner; (b) a dental corporation; (c) two or more individuals practising in partnership where the conditions in paragraph (2) are satisfied. (2) The conditions referred to in paragraph (1)(c) in relation to a partnership are that— (a) at least one partner is a dental practitioner; and (b) any partner who is not a dental practitioner is either— (i) an [HSC employee]; (ii) an Article 15B employee, a section 28C employee or a section 17C employee; (iii) a health care professional who is engaged in the provision of services under this Order; or (iv) an individual falling within Article 15C(1)(c)(iii). (3) Regulations may make provision as to the effect, in relation to a general dental services contract entered into by individuals practising in partnership, of a change in the membership of the partnership. (4) In this Article— - “dental corporation” means a body corporate which, in accordance with the provisions of Part IV of the Dentists Act 1984, is entitled to carry on the business of dentistry; - “health care professional” has the same meaning as in Article 15C; - “[HSC employee]”, “Article 15B employee”, “section 28C employee” and “section 17C employee” have the same meaning as in Article 15C. (61C) (1) The Department may make a scheme providing for payments to be made under general dental services contracts. (2) A general dental services contract must require payments to be made under the contract in accordance with any scheme for the time being in force under this Article. (3) Without prejudice to the generality of the power under paragraph (1) a scheme under that paragraph may— (a) provide for payments to be made by reference to compliance with standards or the achievement of levels of performance; (b) provide for payments to be made by reference to— (i) any method of calculation or scale specified in the scheme ; or (ii) a determination made by any person in accordance with factors specified in the scheme ; (c) provide for the making of payments in respect of individual practitioners; (d) provide that the whole or any part of a payment is subject to conditions (and may provide that payments are payable by the Department only if it is satisfied as to certain conditions); (e) make provision having effect from a date before the date of the scheme , provided that, having regard to the scheme as a whole, the provision is not detrimental to the persons to whose remuneration it relates. (4) Before making a scheme under paragraph (1), the Department— (a) shall consult any body appearing to it to be representative of persons to whose remuneration the scheme would relate, and (b) may consult such other persons as it thinks appropriate. (4A) The Department must publish a scheme under paragraph (1) in such manner as it thinks appropriate. (5) References in this Article to payments include fees, allowances, reimbursements, loans and repayments. (61D) (1) A general dental services contract shall contain such provision as may be prescribed (in addition to the provision required by the preceding provisions of this Part). (2) Regulations under paragraph (1) may in particular make provision as to— (a) the manner in which, and standards to which, services are to be provided; (b) the persons who perform services; (c) the persons to whom services are to be provided; (d) the variation of contract terms (other than terms required by or under this Part); (e) rights of entry and inspection (including inspection of clinical records and other documents); (f) the circumstances in which, and the manner in which, the contract may be terminated; (g) enforcement; (h) the adjudication of disputes. (3) Regulations under paragraph (2)(d) may make provision as to the circumstances in which the Department may impose a variation of contract terms. (4) Regulations under paragraph (1) shall make provision as to the right of patients to choose the persons from whom they are to receive services. (61E) (1) Regulations may make provision for the resolution of disputes as to the terms of a proposed general dental services contract. (2) Regulations under paragraph (1) in particular may make provision— (a) for the referral of the terms of the proposed contract to a prescribed body ; and (b) for that body to determine the terms on which the contract may be entered into. (2A) Regulations making provision as to the matters referred to in paragraph (2)(a) and (b) may make provision— (a) as to the members of the body, including the terms and conditions of their appointment; (b) for the payment of fees and allowances to members of the body. (3) Regulations may make provision for a person or persons entering into a general dental services contract to be regarded as a health and [social care] body for any purposes of Article 8 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991, in circumstances where he or they so elect. (4) Regulations under paragraph (3) may include provision as to the application of Article 8 of that Order in cases where— (a) persons practising in partnership elect to become a health and [social care] body; and (b) there is a change in the membership of the partnership. (5) Where— (a) by virtue of regulations under paragraph (3), paragraph (8) of Article 8 of that Order applies in relation to a general dental services contract, and (b) a direction as to payments is made under that paragraph in relation to the contract, the direction is to be enforceable in a county court (if the court so orders) as if it were a judgment or order of that court.

(61F) (1) Regulations may provide that a health care professional of a prescribed description may not perform any primary dental service for which the Department is responsible unless that professional is included in a list maintained under the regulations by the Regional Board. (2) For the purposes of this Article— (a) “health care professional” has the same meaning as in Article 15C; (b) the Department is responsible for a primary dental service if it provides the service, or secures provision of the service, under or by virtue of Article 60A. (3) Paragraphs (3), (3A) and (3B) of Article 57G shall apply for the purposes of regulations made under paragraph (1) above in the same manner as those paragraphs apply for the purposes of regulations made under paragraph (1) of that Article.

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General dental services: transitional

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Charges for dental services

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(3) Schedule 15A, which makes provisions with respect to exemptions from dental charges under paragraph 1A of Schedule 15, shall have effect.

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(1A) (1) Regulations may provide for the making and recovery, in such manner as may be prescribed, of charges for relevant dental services. (2) Regulations under sub-paragraph (1) may in particular include provision— (a) specifying the amount, or maximum amount, of any charge (or aggregate charge in respect of the provision for two or more relevant dental services); (b) for calculating the amount of any charge; (c) for the variation of the amount, or maximum amount, of any charge in cases of a prescribed description; (d) for any charge not to be payable in cases of a prescribed description; (e) for power to direct that a charge is not payable in any particular case; (f) for the repayment of any charge (including provision as to the persons by whom, and manner in which, repayments are to be made). (3) Regulations under sub-paragraph (1) may provide for sums which would otherwise be payable by a Health and Social Services Board to persons providing relevant dental services to be reduced by the amount of the charges authorised by the regulations. (4) This paragraph is subject to Schedule 15A. (5) In this Schedule and Schedule 15A “relevant dental services” means— (a) dental treatment provided— (i) under Article 60A(2) (dental services provided by a Health and Social Services Board); (ii) under a general dental services contract; (iii) in accordance with Article 15B arrangements; and (b) the supply of dentures and other dental appliances under this Order. (6) Any reference in this paragraph or Schedule 15A to the supply of an appliance includes a reference to its repair, adjustment, refitting or replacement and, in the case of dentures, to their being relined or having additions made to them.

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SCHEDULE 15A (1) (1) No charge is to be made under regulations under paragraph 1A(1) of Schedule 15 in respect of a relevant dental service provided for any person who at the prescribed time— (a) was under the age of 18; (b) was under the age of 19 and receiving qualifying full-time education; (c) was pregnant; or (d) had given birth to a child within the previous 12 months. (2) In sub-paragraph (1)(b), “qualifying full-time education” means full-time instruction at a recognised educational establishment or by other means accepted as comparable by the person or body making the regulations. (3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2)— (a) “recognised educational establishment” means an establishment recognised by the Department as being, or as comparable to, a school, college or university; and (b) regulations may prescribe the circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated as receiving full-time instruction. (4) In sub-paragraph (1)(d), “child” includes a still-born child (within the meaning of the Births and Deaths Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 1976). (5) This paragraph is subject to paragraph 3. (2) (1) No charge is to be made under regulations under paragraph 1A(1) of Schedule 15 in respect of the repair or replacement of any appliance. (2) This paragraph is subject to paragraph 3. (3) Paragraphs 1 and 2 do not apply in relation to— (a) the repair or replacement of any appliance of a prescribed description; or (b) the repair or replacement of any appliance where it is determined in the prescribed manner— (i) in any case, that the repair or replacement was necessitated by an act or omission of the person supplied; or (ii) in a case where the person supplied was under the age of 16, that the repair or replacement was necessitated by an act or omission, occurring while that person was under that age, of a person having charge of him. (4) No charge is to be made under regulations under paragraph 1A(1) of Schedule 15 in respect of any appliance supplied to a patient for the time being resident in a hospital. (5) Paragraph 4 does not apply where an appliance is supplied— (a) under Article 60A(2); (b) under a general dental services contract; or (c) in accordance with Article 15B arrangements. (6) No charge is to be made under regulations under paragraph 1A(1) of Schedule 15 in respect of the arrest of bleeding. (7) Regulations may provide, with respect to any exemption under this Schedule, that it is to be a condition of the exemption that— (a) a declaration of the prescribed kind is made in the prescribed form and manner; or (b) a certificate or other evidence of the prescribed kind is supplied in the prescribed form and manner.

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(1A) The Department may not make a statutory rule containing the first regulations made under paragraph 1A(1) of Schedule 15 unless a draft of the regulations has been laid before, and approved by resolution of, the Assembly.

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Provision of dental services: Article 15B arrangements

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