Explanatory note

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) Regulations 1986 which provide for the arrangements under which ophthalmic medical practitioners and ophthalmic opticians (“contractors”) provide general ophthalmic services (ie sight testing services).

Regulation 2 of these Regulations provides that a contractor who is an employee is jointly liable with his employer, to provide suitable accommodation and equipment, to allow inspection of his accommodation and to retain records only where he has not taken reasonable steps to ensure that those obligations are met. Similarly, the liability of a contractor who is acting as a deputy only extends to that of the contractor for whom he is deputising. Regulation 2 further requires a contractor who issues to a patient a prescription for glasses to require the patient to acknowledge its receipt.