The National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2006

Made: 10th March 2006

Laid before the Scottish Parliament: 10th March 2006

Coming into force: 1st April 2006

The Scottish Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 26, 28A, 32A(7), 32D, 34, 105(7), 106(a) and 108(1) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978 and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations:

PART I — GENERAL

Citation and commencement

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These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 and shall come into force on 1st April 2006.

Interpretation

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• (1) In these Regulations–

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

• “the 2007 Act” means the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007;

• “the Agency” means the Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service constituted under section 10 of the Act ;

• “anterior eye condition” means any one of—anterior uveitis;blepharitis;corneal foreign body;episcleritis;herpes simplex keratitis;herpes zoster ophthalmicus;infective conjunctivitis;marginal keratitis;ocular allergy;ocular rosacea.

• “area medical committee” means the committee of that name for the area of a Health Board recognised under section 9 of the Act ;

• “area optical committee” means the committee of that name for the area of a Health Board recognised under section 9 of the Act;

• “barred from regulated roles” means barred from regulated roles with children or adults within the meaning of section 92(1) or (2) (individuals barred from regulated roles) of the 2007 Act,

• “Board” means a Health Board constituted for any area under section 2 of the Act ;

• “body corporate” means a body corporate registered in the register of bodies corporate maintained under section 9 of the Opticians Act 1989 carrying on business as an optometrist and includes a partnership and a limited liability partnership, and in relation to such partnerships, the reference to a director or other officer of a body corporate is a reference to a member;

• “complex appliance” means an optical appliance at least one lens of which–has a power in any one meridian of plus or minus 10 or more dioptres, oris a prism controlled bifocal lens;

• “condition for disqualification” means the first, second or third condition for disqualification in section 29 of the Act ;

• “conditional disqualification” has the same meaning as in section 29C(1) of the Act and includes a decision under provisions in force in England, Wales or Northern Ireland corresponding (whether or not exactly) to a conditional disqualification, and “conditionally disqualified” shall be construed accordingly;

• “considered for listing” means considered for listing by the Scottish Ministers in the children’s list or adult’s list or in both lists in pursuance of section 10, 11, 12 or 13 (consideration whether to list) of the 2007 Act;

• “contractor” means a person who has undertaken to provide general ophthalmic services and whose name is included in the first part of the Ophthalmic List;

• “corresponding decision” has the same meaning as in section 32D of the Act;

• “day centre” means an establishment attended by patients and accepted by the Board as suitable for the provision of general ophthalmic services in the Board's area for those patients who would have difficulty in obtaining such services from practice premises because of physical or mental illness or disability or because of difficulties in communicating their health needs unaided;

• “deputy” means an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician, whether or not a contractor, who provides general ophthalmic services on behalf of a contractor otherwise than as a director or salaried employee of that contractor;

• “director” means–a director of a body corporate; ora member of the body of persons controlling a body corporate;

• “Disclosure Act” means the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020,

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• “disqualification” means disqualification by the Tribunal, (or a corresponding decision under provisions in force in England, Wales or Northern Ireland corresponding to disqualification), but does not include conditional disqualification, and “disqualified” shall be construed accordingly;

• “doctor” means a registered medical practitioner;

• “EEA state” means a member State, Norway, Iceland or Lichtenstein;

• “electronic communication” has the meaning given by section 15(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 2000;

• “emergency eye examination” means an eye examination carried out, in circumstances that in the professional judgement of an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician constitute an emergency, on the day that a person presents under regulation 21B or within a reasonable period thereof;

• “enactment” includes an enactment comprised in, or an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament;

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• “equivalent body” means–in England, NHS England;in Wales, a Local Health Board;in Northern Ireland, a Health and Social Services Board; in relation to any time prior to 1st April 2013 and after 30th September 2002, a Primary Care Trust in England; in relation to any time prior to 1st October 2002, a Health Authority in England; orin relation to any time prior to 1st April 2003, a Health Authority in Wales,or any successor body;

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

• “eye examination” means a primary eye examination or a supplementary eye examination or both;

• “eye examination form” means an electronic form supplied by the Agency which is to be completed for the purposes of payment in respect of an eye examination;

• “fraud” means matters which it is the function of the Agency to prevent, detect or investigate by virtue of article 3(o) of the National Health Service (Functions of the Common Services Agency) (Scotland) Order 1974;

• “general ophthalmic services” means the services which a contractor must provide pursuant to paragraph 14 of Schedule 1;

• “Goldmann type tonometer” includes a Perkins type tonometer;

• “Level 2 disclosure” has the meaning given in section 8(1) of the Disclosure Act,

• “Level 2 disclosure application” means an application under section 11 of the Disclosure Act,

• “licensing or regulatory body” means a body that licenses or regulates any profession of which the ophthalmic medical practitioner, or the optician (as the case may be) 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 licenses or regulates any such profession, its education, training or qualifications, outside the United Kingdom;

• “list” has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning as in section 29(8) of the Act;

• “mobile practice” means a contractor who does not have practice premises in the Board's area but who has undertaken to provide general ophthalmic services for a patient who is at a day or residential centre or for a patient who is at a place where the patient normally resides in that part of the Board's area;

• “ophthalmic hospital” includes an ophthalmic department of a hospital;

• “Ophthalmic List” has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 6;

• “ophthalmic medical practitioner” means a registered medical practitioner whose qualifications have been approved in accordance with regulation 4 or 5 as being prescribed qualifications;

• “ophthalmic officer” means an ophthalmic medical practitioner, ophthalmic optician or ophthalmologist in the service of the Agency;

• “Ophthalmic Qualifications Committee” means such committee appointed by organisations representative of the medical profession as may be recognised for the purposes of approving–ophthalmic hospitals, academic degrees, academic or post graduate courses in ophthalmology and appointments affording special opportunities for acquiring the necessary skill and experience of the kind required for the provision of general ophthalmic services; andthe qualifications of doctors for the purpose of general ophthalmic services;

• “optical appliance” means an appliance designed to correct, remedy or relieve a defect of sight;

• “optician” means an ophthalmic optician as defined in section 108(1) of the Act ;

• “optometrist” means a person registered in the register of optometrists maintained under section 7 of the Opticians Act 1989 ... or a body corporate;

• “optometrist independent prescriber” means an optometrist who is a person against whose name is recorded in the register an annotation signifying that the person is qualified to order drugs, medicines and appliances;

• “patient” means any person for whom a contractor has agreed to provide general ophthalmic services, or in respect of whom an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optician has agreed to assist in the provision of general ophthalmic services;

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• “practice premises” means a place to which the public has unrestricted access during normal business hours and at or from which general ophthalmic services are provided;

• “primary eye examination” means a general eye health check which includes a sight test, an internal and external examination of the eye as well as other tests and procedures appropriate to the needs of the patient;

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

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

• “PVG Scheme Level 2 disclosure” means a Level 2 disclosure to which section 17 of the Disclosure Act applies,

• “qualifications” includes qualifications as to experience;

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• “records” means records kept in accordance with paragraph 8 of Schedule 1 ...;

• “register”–in the case of an ophthalmic medical practitioner has the meaning given to it in section 2(2) of the Medical Act 1983 ;in the case of an optician means a person registered in the register of optometrists maintained under section 7 of the Opticians Act 1989 ..., or, in the case of a body corporate, the register of bodies corporate carrying on business as an optometrist maintained under section 9 of that Act;

• “relevant service in the armed forces” means whole time service in the armed forces of the Crown in a national emergency, as a volunteer or otherwise, or a compulsory whole-time service in those forces, including any service resulting from any reserve liability, or any equivalent service by a person liable for compulsory whole-time service in those forces;

• “remote facilities” means any equipment or facility which—enables persons who are not in the same place to provide and receive general ophthalmic services, andenables those persons to speak to and be heard by each other (whether or not it enables those persons to see and be seen by each other).

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• “residential centre” means an establishment in the Board's area for patients who normally reside in that establishment and who are unable to leave the establishment unaccompanied because of physical or mental illness or disability;

• “scheme member” means a member of the Scheme, established by section 44 of the 2007 Act, in relation to both—a regulated role with children, as defined in section 91(2) (regulated roles) of the 2007 Act; anda regulated role with adults, as defined in section 91(3) of the 2007 Act.

• “scheme record” means a document disclosed by the Scottish Ministers under section 52 of the 2007 Act which—sets out the type of regulated work (with children or adults) in relation to which the individual is a scheme member,confirms that the scheme member is not barred from doing that work,states if the Scottish Ministers are considering whether to list the scheme member, andcontains vetting information about the scheme member which the Scottish Ministers discovered as a result of enquiries or arrangements made under section 47 of the 2007 Act,

• “sight test” means a refraction to measure and correct the refractive error of the eyes by means of an optical appliance;

• “specialist ophthalmic medical practitioner” has the meaning given in paragraph 14A of schedule 1;

• “specialist optometrist independent prescriber” has the meaning given in paragraph 14A of schedule 1;

• “the Statement” means the Statement prepared pursuant to the provisions of regulation 17;

• “supplements” means prisms, tints, photochromic lenses, small glasses and complex appliances;

• “supplementary eye examination” means an eye health check which is either carried out—after a primary eye examination for a particular reason which has arisen during the primary eye examination; orin circumstances set out in regulation 22A(2),and includes the tests and procedures appropriate to the clinical needs of the patient;

• “suspended” means suspended as respects the provision of general ophthalmic services to patients or as respects assisting in the provision of such services by a direction of the Tribunal made pursuant to section 32A(2) (applications for interim suspension) or section 32B(1) suspension pending appeal) of the Act or to any provisions in force in England and Wales or Northern Ireland (corresponding whether or not exactly) to those provisions;

• “terms of service” means the terms set out in Schedule 1;

• “Tribunal” means the Tribunal constituted in accordance with the provisions of section 29 of, and Schedule 8 to, the Act;

• “working day” means a period of 7 hours 30 minutes on any day of the week, usually between the hours of 9.00am and 5.30pm with a 1 hour lunch break;

• “writing” includes, except in regulation 7(1) electronic communication and “written” shall be construed accordingly.

• (2) A reference to “the Agency” in these Regulations includes a reference to the Agency acting on behalf of a Board.

• (3) Unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these regulations to a numbered regulation or Schedule is to the regulation in or Schedule to these regulations which bears that number, any reference in a regulation or Schedule to a numbered paragraph is to the paragraph bearing that number in that regulation or Schedule, and any reference in a paragraph of Schedule 1 to a numbered sub paragraph is to the sub paragraph bearing that number in that paragraph.

PART II — QUALIFICATIONS OF OPHTHALMIC MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS

Qualifications

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• (1) The prescribed qualifications which a doctor is to possess for the purposes of section 26 of the Act (general ophthalmic services) are that the doctor has (at the date of consideration of the doctor's application under regulation 4) recent experience and either–

• (a) has–

• (i) held an appointment in the health service, otherwise than under Part II of the Act, with the status of consultant ophthalmologist, or an appointment for a period of not less than two years of equivalent status as ophthalmic surgeon or assistant ophthalmic surgeon on the staff of an approved ophthalmic hospital; and

• (ii) had adequate experience; or

• (b) has–

• (i) held an ophthalmic appointment or an appointment in an approved ophthalmic hospital, for a period totalling not less than two years, including therein tenure for a period of not less than 6 months of a residential appointment or an appointment with duties comparable with those of a residential appointment (provided that such tenure for 6 months of a residential or comparable appointment shall not be required in the case of a doctor who has been fully registered for at least seven years and whose experience is such as to make that requirement unnecessary);

• (ii) obtained the Membership of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, or any approved higher degree or qualification; and

• (iii) had adequate experience.

• (2) “For the purposes of this regulation, “approved” means approved by the Ophthalmic Qualifications Committee.

Approval of qualifications

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• (1) A doctor who wishes to establish his or her status as an ophthalmic medical practitioner shall apply to the Ophthalmic Qualifications Committee for approval of his or her qualifications and experience, and shall give to that Committee such particulars of his or her qualifications and experience as it shall require.

• (2) The Ophthalmic Qualifications Committee shall consider such application and within one month after the date thereof shall inform the applicant of its determination.

• (3) If the Ophthalmic Qualifications Committee is satisfied that the doctor possesses the qualifications prescribed by regulation 3, he or she shall be an ophthalmic medical practitioner.

• (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of regulation 3 and paragraph (1), a doctor who has the prescribed qualifications for the purposes of providing general ophthalmic services in England and Wales under the National Health Service Act 1977 or in Northern Ireland under the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972 , shall be an ophthalmic medical practitioner.

Appeals against determinations of Ophthalmic Qualifications Committee

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• (1) Any person aggrieved by a determination of the Ophthalmic Qualifications Committee that the person is not qualified to be an ophthalmic medical practitioner may, within one month from the date on which he or she received notice of that decision or such longer period as the Scottish Ministers may at any time allow, appeal against the determination by sending to the Scottish Ministers a notice of appeal stating the facts and contentions on which that person relies.