Citation, commencement and extent

1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (General Dental Services) Amendment Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 3rd October 2000, except for regulations 5(2)(a)(ii), 5(2)(b), 5(2)(d) and 5(3) which shall come into force on 13th November 2000.

(2) These Regulations, other than regulation 4 which extends to England and Wales, extend to England only.

Amendment of the National Health Service (General Dental Services) Regulations 1992

2.The National Health Service (General Dental Services) Regulations 1992( 2 ) shall be amended in accordance with the following provisions of these Regulations.

Amendment of regulation 19

3. In regulation 19 (Statement and Dental Remuneration), in paragraph (1), for the entry “Incentive scheme allowances” in column (2) of the Table, substitute “Commitment payments”.

Amendment of regulation 20

4. In regulation 20 (approval of payments)—

(a) in paragraph (4), after “IV,” insert “V”; and

(b) for paragraph (5), substitute—

“ (5) The Health Authority shall pay to a salaried dentist and a dentist providing emergency dental service remuneration in accordance with Determination II of the Statement of Dental Remuneration. ” .

Amendment of Schedule 1

5. —(1)Schedule 1 (terms of service for dentists) is amended as follows.

(2) In paragraph 25 (records)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (1)—

(i) before “record” the first time it appears, insert “full, accurate and contemporaneous”, and

(ii) after “any practice record form” insert “or form recording recalled attendance in accordance with paragraph 27B”;

(b) in sub-paragraph (2) after “records,” insert “forms,”;

(c) for sub-paragraph (3) substitute—

“ (3) The dentist shall, during the period in which he holds any records, forms, radiographs, photographs and study models referred to in sub-paragraph (1)—

(i) produce them on request to a dental officer, the Health Authority or the Secretary of State, or

(ii) send them to the Board, Health Authority or the Secretary of State within 14 days of being required to do so by one of those persons. ” ; and

(d) in sub-paragraph (4), after “other than the practice record form” insert “and the form recording recalled attendance in accordance with paragraph 27B”.

(3) After paragraph 27 insert—

“ Completion of claim forms

27A. —(1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2), where a person declares that he or a person for whom he is responsible does not have to pay the charges prescribed by the National Health Service (Dental Charges) Regulations 1989 ( 3 ) by virtue of either—

(a) entitlement to exemption under sub-paragraph (4) of paragraph (2) or sub-paragraph (4) of paragraph (3) of Schedule 12 to the Act; or

(b) entitlement to remission of such charges under regulation 3 or 5 of the National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 1988 ( 4 ) , the dentist shall ask that person to produce to him satisfactory evidence in support of that declaration and where that person does not produce such evidence the dentist shall record that fact in his form claiming remuneration for the treatment of that person or the person for whom that person is responsible.

(2) Where, at the time of the declaration there is already available to the dentist satisfactory evidence of an entitlement to exemption from the charges on the grounds that the person in respect of whom the declaration is made is under 18 years of age, the obligations on the dentist specified in sub-paragraph (1) shall not apply.

(3) The dentist may appoint a member of his staff to undertake the task set out in sub-paragraph (1) on his behalf, and where he does so he shall ensure that that staff member is given sufficient instruction to enable him to perform that task.

Recalled attendance

27B. Where a dentist is recalled to his practice premises at a time when he does not normally provide general dental services in order to provide treatment in an emergency he shall, on each occasion he does so, at the time of that recalled attendance—

(a) complete a form supplied by the Health Authority for the purpose of supporting his claim to an allowance for that recalled attendance; and

(b) obtain the signature on that form of the patient whom he has been recalled to treat, or of a person acting on behalf of that patient. ” .

(4) After paragraph 37 insert—

“ 37A. Where care and treatment is given by an assistant, the dentist or assistant shall complete a claim for remuneration in respect of that care and treatment which—

(a) is separate from any claim form in respect of care and treatment given by the dentist personally; and

(b) identifies the assistant by whom the care and treatment was given and his status as an assistant. ” .