Office of Public Sector Information

PART 6 Transitional Provision

Commencement of contract

20.  The contract shall provide for services to be provided under it from any date that falls after 31st July 2008.

Regulation 18

SCHEDULE 1 OTHER CONTRACTUAL TERMS

PART 1 Patients

Persons to whom mandatory services are to be provided

1.—(1) Subject to sub-paragraphs (3) to (5), the contractor shall provide mandatory services under the contract to any eligible person if a request is made for such services by—

(a) an eligible person who requires the services; or

(b) a person specified in sub-paragraph (2), on behalf of an eligible person who requires those services.

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1)(b), a request for services may be made—

(a) on behalf of any child by—

(i) either parent;

(ii) a person duly authorised by a local authority to whose care the child has been committed under the Children Act 1989(26); or

(iii) a person duly authorised by a voluntary organisation which is accommodating the child under the provisions of that Act; or

(b) on behalf of any adult who is incapable of making such an application, or authorising such an application to be made on their behalf, by a relative or the primary carer of that person.

(3) The contractor shall—

(a)(i) satisfy itself that the person is an eligible person by asking for satisfactory evidence that person is eligible, unless the contractor, in cases other than where the patient is a person specified in regulation 3(1)(d) of the POS Regulations (person of limited resources), already has satisfactory evidence of that available to it, or

(ii) where the patient has been asked for, but not produced, satisfactory evidence that he is an eligible person, record that fact on the patient’s sight test form;

(b) subject to sub-paragraph (4), ensure that particulars of the patient and the approximate date of the last testing, if any, of his sight are inserted in a sight test form by the patient or on his behalf; and

(c) satisfy itself that the testing of sight is necessary.

(4) If the requirements of sub-paragraph (3)(b) cannot be met, the contractor may, instead of satisfying itself that those requirements are met, satisfy itself that the person is an eligible person by referring to its own records or by measuring the power of the lenses of the person’s existing optical appliance by means of a focimeter or other suitable means.

(5) The contractor shall only refuse to provide services under the contract to an eligible person if it has reasonable grounds for doing so, and those grounds cannot relate to a person’s—

(a) race, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, disability or medical or ophthalmic condition; or

(b) decision or intended decision to accept or refuse private services in respect of himself or a family member.

(6) If the contractor refuses to provide services under the contract on any ground other than that it is not satisfied that—

(a) under sub-paragraph (3)(a)(i), the person to whom it has refused to provide services is an eligible person; or

(b) under sub-paragraph (3)(c), the testing of sight is necessary,

it shall keep a record of that refusal, specifying in that record its grounds for doing so.

PART 2 Provision of Services

Mixing of services provided under the contract with private services

2.  A contractor shall not, with a view to obtaining the agreement of a patient to undergo services privately—

(a) advise an eligible person that mandatory services are not available from the contractor under the contract; or

(b) seek to mislead the patient about the availability, quality and extent of the services under the contract.

Premises, equipment and facilities

3.—(1) The contractor shall ensure that the practice premises and equipment used for the provision of mandatory services under the contract are—

(a) suitable for the delivery of those services; and

(b) sufficient to meet the reasonable needs of the contractor’s patients.

(2) The obligation in sub-paragraph (1) includes providing proper and sufficient waiting-room accommodation for patients.

(3) The contractor shall provide, in relation to all of the services to be provided under the contract, such other facilities as are necessary to enable it to properly perform that service.

Telephone services

4.—(1) The contractor shall not be a party to any contract or other arrangement under which the number for telephone services—

(a) to be used by patients to contact the practice for any purpose related to the contract; or

(b) to be used by any other person to contact the practice in relation to services provided as part of the health service,

starts with the digits 087, 090 or 091 or consists of a personal number, unless the service is provided free to the caller.

(2) In this paragraph, “personal number” means a telephone number which starts with the number 070 followed by a further 8 digits.

Safety of the Public

5.—(1) —The contractor shall ensure that it has—

(a) appropriate arrangements for infection control and decontamination; and

(b) regard to any relevant requirements of the MHRA or the Health and Safety Executive.

(2) The contractor shall establish and operate arrangements applicable to all the persons specified in sub-paragraph (3).

(3) The specified persons are—

(a) any ophthalmic practitioner who performs services under the contract; and

(b) any other person employed by the contractor to perform or assist in the performance of services under the contract.

(4) In sub-paragraph (2), “arrangements” means arrangements to ensure that—

(a) effective measures of infection control are used;

(b) all legal requirements relating to health and safety in the workplace are satisfied; and

(c) any requirements of or recommendations by the MHRA are adhered to.