{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/national-health-service-miscellaneous-amendments-relating-to-ophthalmic-services-regulations-2010/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/national-health-service-miscellaneous-amendments-relating-to-ophthalmic-services-regulations-2010/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2010/634",
  "legislation_title": "The National Health Service (Miscellaneous Amendments Relating to Ophthalmic Services) Regulations 2010",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/national-health-service-miscellaneous-amendments-relating-to-ophthalmic-services-regulations-2010",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations amend the Primary Ophthalmic Services Regulations 2008 (the POS Regulations), the General Ophthalmic Services Contracts Regulations 2008 (the GOS Contracts Regulations) and the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 1997 (the Optical Charges Regulations).\nThe amendments to the POS Regulations and the GOS Contracts Regulations are made as a consequence of drafting errors or as a consequence of provisions which did not achieve the policy intention.\nRegulation 2(2)(a), (c) and (d) amends regulation 2(1) of the POS Regulations to amend the definitions of additional services, mandatory services and mobile services. Regulation 3(2)(a) to (c) makes similar amendments to regulation 2(1) of the GOS Contracts Regulations. Regulation 2(2)(b) inserts a new definition of child into regulation 2(1) of the POS Regulations. Regulation 2(2)(e) corrects a drafting error in the definition of sight test form in regulation 2(1) of those Regulations.\nRegulation 2(3) inserts a new regulation 2A into the POS Regulations which prescribes mobile services as other primary ophthalmic services.\nRegulation 2(4) amends regulation 4 of the POS Regulations to remove the contractor’s right to charge patients for missed appointments. Regulation 3(5) amends regulation 16 of the GOS Contracts Regulations to make a similar provision.\nRegulations 2(5) and 3(6)(b) respectively amend regulation 6(1) of the POS Regulations and paragraph 1(2)(a) of Schedule 1 to the GOS Contracts Regulations. These regulations provide that applications for a sight test in respect of a child may be made by either parent, the guardian or any other person who has care of the child, a person duly authorised by a local authority to whose care the child has been committed under the Children Act 1989 or by a person duly authorised by a voluntary organisation which is accommodating the child under the provisions of that Act. Regulation 2(5) also amends regulation 6(1) of the POS Regulations to bring it into line with the similar provision in paragraph 1(2)(b) of Schedule 1 to the GOS Contracts Regulations which deals with applications for a sight test in respect of any adult who is incapable of making such an application, or of authorising such an application to be made on their behalf.\nRegulation 3(3) and (4) correct drafting errors in regulations 4(3) and 6(4) of the GOS Contracts Regulations. Regulation 3(6)(a) amends paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 1 to the GOS Contracts Regulations to provide that a contractor may provide mandatory services. Regulation 3(7) inserts new paragraph 2A into that Schedule to provide that a patient has a right to express a preference to receive services from a particular performer. Regulation 3(8) and (9) correct further drafting errors in Schedule 1 to the GOS Contracts Regulations.\nRegulation 3(10) corrects a drafting error in paragraph 4 of Schedule 2 to the GOS Contracts Regulations.\nRegulation 4 amends the definition of “NHS sight test fee” in regulation 1 of the Optical Charges Regulations to reflect the increase in the fees for NHS sight tests which are set out in Directions made by the Secretary of State (published on the Department of Health website www.dh.gov.uk) by an overall 2.2% approximately. NHS sight test fees are negotiated with the representative bodies for ophthalmic services contractors as part of a three year negotiated fee settlement covering the period 2008 to 2011.\nA full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.",
  "extent": "E+W",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/634/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T02:49:28.858816+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}