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General Dental Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998


Published: 1998-07-06

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Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
1998 No. 245

HEALTH AND PERSONAL SOCIAL SERVICES
General Dental Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998

Made
6th July 1998

Coming into operation
1st August 1998

The Department of Health and Social Services, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 61(1), (2) and (2AA), 106 and 107(6) of, and paragraph 8E of Part I of Schedule 11 to, the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972(1) and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, and in conjunction with the Department of Finance and Personnel and after consultation with such organisations as appeared to the Department to be representative of the dental profession as required by Article 61(4) of the Order, hereby makes the following regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These regulations may be cited as the General Dental Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1998 and shall come into operation on 1st August 1998.

(2) In these regulations, “the principal regulations” means the Health and Personal Social Services General Dental Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993(2).

Amendment of regulation 4 of the principal regulations

2.  In regulation 4 of the principal regulations (dental list), in paragraph (2)(b)—

(a)at the end of paragraph (i), “and” shall be omitted; and

(b)at the end of paragraph (ii) there shall be inserted—

“; and

(iii)whether the dentist is indemnified against claims relating to the practice of dentistry in relation to dentistry performed by the dentist himself, and by any assistant, deputy and dental auxiliary whose work he directs.”.

Amendment of regulation 5 of the principal regulations

3.  In regulation 5 of the principal regulations (application for inclusion in the dental list), in paragraph (1)(a)—

(a)in paragraph (i),

(i)“or a dentist undertaking to provide only emergency dental services” shall be omitted;

(ii)for “11 and 14” there shall be substituted “11, 14 and 15”; and

(iii)at the end “and” shall be omitted; and

(b)for paragraph (ii) there shall be substituted—

“(ii)in the case of a dentist undertaking to provide only emergency dental services, the information specified in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5A, 11, 14, 15 and 16 of Part I of Schedule 3 and the undertaking specified in that Part of that Schedule; and

(iii)in any other case, all the information and the undertaking specified in Part I of Schedule 3; and”.

Amendment of regulation 5A of the principal regulations

4.  In regulation 5A of the principal regulations (applications for vocational training numbers)(3), in paragraph (4), for sub-paragraph (d) there shall be substituted—

“(d)he has practised in primary dental care in either the community dental service or the armed forces of the Crown for a period amounting in aggregate to not less than four years full-time employment (or part-time employment of equivalent duration), and has so practised for not less than four months in full-time employment (or part-time employment of equivalent duration) within the period of four years ending with the date of his application under regulation 5(1).”.

Amendment of Schedule 2 to the principal regulations

5.—(1) Schedule 2 to the principal regulations (terms of service for dentists) shall be amended as follows.

(2) In paragraph 11 (termination of a continuing care arrangement or a capitation arrangement)—

(a)in sub-paragraph (1), for “sub-paragraph (4)” there shall be substituted “sub-paragraph (4) and paragraph 11A”; and

(b)in sub-paragraph (4), at the beginning there shall be inserted “Subject to paragraph 11A,”.

(3) After paragraph 11 there shall be inserted—

“Violent patients

11A.—(1) Where—

(i)a person, with whom a dentist has a continuing care arrangement, or a capitation arrangement, has committed an act of violence against the dentist or an employee of the dentist or has behaved in such a way that such dentist or employee has feared for his safety; and

(ii)the dentist has reported the incident to the police,

the dentist may notify the Agency that he wishes the arrangement to be terminated immediately.

(2) Notification under sub-paragraph (1) may be given by any means including telephone or fax, but if not given in writing shall subsequently be confirmed in writing before the end of the period of seven days beginning with the date of the notification under sub-paragraph (1) (and for this purpose a faxed notification is not a written one).

(3) The time at which the dentist notified the Agency shall be the time at which he makes the telephone call or sends or delivers the notification to the Agency.

(4) Where pursuant to this paragraph a dentist has notified the Agency that he wishes a continuing care arrangement or a capitation arrangement to be terminated immediately, the Agency shall take all reasonable steps to inform the person concerned.”.

(4) After paragraph 31C(4) there shall be inserted—

“Professional Indemnity

31D.  A dentist shall, if asked in writing to do so by a Board,—

(a)state whether he is indemnified against claims relating to the practice of dentistry in relation to dentistry performed by himself, and by any assistant, deputy and dental auxiliary whose work he directs, and

(b)if he is so indemnified, provide documentary evidence to that effect.”.

Amendment of Schedule 3 to the principal regulations

6.  In Schedule 3 to the principal regulations (information and undertaking to be included in an application for inclusion in the dental list), in Part I, after paragraph 14(5) there shall be inserted—

“15.  Whether he is indemnified against claims relating to the practice of dentistry in relation to dentistry performed by himself, and by any assistant, deputy and dental auxiliary whose work the dentist intends to direct, and if he is so indemnified documentary evidence to that effect.

16.  Details of any limitations imposed by the Secretary of State which limit his ability to work in any specific capacity.”.

Amendment of Schedule 5 to the principal regulations

7.  In Part II of Schedule 5 to the principal regulations (prior approval treatment), in each of paragraphs 1 and 2, for “£200” there shall be substituted “£230”.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services on

L.S.
Joan Dixon
Assistant Secretary
6th July 1998.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on

L.S.
J. G. Sullivan
Assistant Secretary
6th July 1998.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)
These regulations further amend the Health and Personal Social Services General Dental Service Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 (“the principal regulations”) which regulate the terms on which general dental services are provided under the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972.
Regulations 2, 3 and 6 require the additional information to be provided by dentists who are applying to be included in the dental list. Such dentists must now advise the Board if they have insurance indemnity cover and if they are subject to any Secretary of State restrictions on employment.
Regulation 4 makes clear that a dentist, practising dentistry in either the community dental service or the armed forces, needs to have practised primary dental care for four months (or its part time equivalent) in the four years preceding his application for a vocational training certificate if he is to benefit from the relevant exemption from vocational training.
Regulation 5 amends Schedule 2 to the principal regulations, which contains dentists' terms of service. It includes a provision that dentists may terminate, with immediate effect, a capitation arrangement or a continuing care arrangement with a patient who has been violent to, or who has threatened with violence, the dentist or one of his employees. It also places a requirement on dentists to respond to a request for information about their professional indemnity insurance from a Board.
Regulation 7 amends Schedule 5 to the principal regulations to increase from £200 to £230 the amount specified as the maximum cost or likely cost of care and treatment which a dentist may undertake without seeking the prior approval of the Dental Committee.


(1)
S.I. 1972/1265 (N.I. 14) as amended by Article 13 of S.I. 1978/1907 (N.I. 26); Articles 30, 34, 35 and Part I of Schedule 5 to, and Part I of Schedule 6 to, S.I. 1991/194 (N.I. 1); paragraph 8E of Part I of Schedule 11 was inserted by Article 4 of S.I. 1995/2704 (N.I. 14)

(2)
S.R. 1993 No. 326 as amended by S.R. 1993 No. 401, S.R. 1995 No. 488, and S.R. 1996 Nos. 114 and 382

(3)
Regulation 5A was inserted by S.R. 1993 No. 401

(4)
Paragraph 31C was inserted by S.R. 1996 No. 114

(5)
Paragraph 14 was inserted by S.R. 1996 No. 488