General Ophthalmic Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007

Provision of mobile servicesN.I.

4.—(1) A contractor, who has made arrangements with the Board to provide mobile services, may provide them only in accordance with sub-paragraph (2), after giving notice in accordance with sub-paragraph (3).

(2) The contractor may only provide mobile services if—

(a)the patient has requested the contractor to provide those services to him, or, where the patient is incapable of making such a request, another person has made such a request on the patient’s behalf; and

(b)subject to sub-paragraphs (5), (6), (7) and (8), he has notified the Board in accordance with sub-paragraph (3) and, if applicable, (4) and the Board has not informed the contractor that it is not content with those changes.

(3) The contractor shall notify the Board of his intention to provide mobile services at a location at least 48 hours (except that no part of a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday shall count towards that period) in advance of the date on which the contractor intends to provide the mobile services in the Board’s area, identifying the persons to whom the services are to be provided and specifying the date and approximate time when he will provide them.

(4) If the contractor wishes to change any of the matters of which he has notified the Board under sub-paragraph (3), he shall so notify the Board at least 24 hours (except that no part of a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday shall count towards that period) before—

(a)if he wishes to provide mobile services to further or different persons, that provision;

(b)if he wishes to change the date or time of the provision of those services, both—

(i)the previously notified date of that provision, and

(ii)if the notification is to change the date, the date so notified.

(5) If the contractor is unable to attend the place at which he has notified the Board that he would be attending, he may instead, on that day and at that approximate time, provide mobile services at another location (“the substitution”), provided that the Board notifies him that it agrees to the substitution.

(6) In a case to which paragraph (5) applies the contractor may attend and provide mobile services at the originally notified place at such time as the Board shall agree.

(7) In a case where circumstances have arisen whereby it was not possible to notify in accordance with sub-paragraph (4)(a), the contractor may provide mobile services to up to 3 other persons at the previously notified time and place.

(8) The contractor shall be permitted to provide emergency mobile services without due notification to the Board in accordance with sub-paragraph (3), provided that the contractor notifies the relevant Board of the location at which the emergency mobile services were provided, the identity of the person to whom those services were provided, the date and approximate time the services were provided and the reasons for the provision of the services, as soon as reasonably possible.

[F1(9) In sub-paragraph (8) “emergency mobile services” means general ophthalmic services provided at a location, other than the contractor’s practice premises, where the contractor has made reasonable arrangements to secure that a patient requiring prompt care will receive such care as soon as appropriately possible.]

[F1(10) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (9) a patient requires “prompt care” if in the clinical opinion of the contractor—

(a)the patient’s sight is likely to deteriorate without such care;

(b)the patient is in significant pain by reason of his eye condition; or

(c)the patient may be at serious risk of sustaining a personal injury as a direct result of having an uncorrected refractive error;

and “prompt care” does not necessitate a repair or replacement of an optical appliance unless head (c) applies.]