This Order may be cited as the General Optical Council (Rules on the Fitting of Contact Lenses) Order of Council 1985, and shall come into operation on 5th June 1985.

SCHEDULERULES ON THE FITTING OF CONTACT LENSES 1985

The General Optical Council, in exercise of their powers under section 20A(3) of the Opticians Act 1958, hereby make the following rules:-

1. These rules may be cited as the Rules on the Fitting of Contact Lenses 1985.

2.-(a) In these rules-

"The Act" means the Opticians Act 1958;

"appropriate course of instruction" means a course of instruction as a dispensing optician or an ophthalmic optician provided by an approved training institution;

"the Council" means the General Optical Council established under the Act;

"examining body" means a body granting, for the time being, an approved qualification;

(b)Section 30 of the Act shall apply for the interpretation of these rules as it applies for the interpretation of the Act.

3. A person who is training as a dispensing optician or an ophthalmic optician and who falls within one of the classes prescribed by Rule 4 of these rules may fit a contact lens provided he does so-

(a)in the course of obtaining practical experience; and

(b)under the continuous personal supervision of a registered optician or registered medical practitioner.

4. The classes of persons training as dispensing opticians or ophthalmic opticians prescribed for the purposes of these rules are the following:-

(1) Persons engaged in an appropriate course of instruction.

(2) Persons who either:-

(a)have completed an appropriate course of instruction; or

(b)are holders of a qualification for the time being recognised under section 3(4) of the Act (overseas qualifications);

and who are undertaking a period of preregistration training as a dispensing optician or an ophthalmic optician under the supervision of an examining body.

(3) Persons who have been accepted by an examining body to sit without further part-time or full-time study the examinations for an approved qualification by virtue of having completed an appropriate course of instruction.

(4) Persons engaged in a course of instruction provided by an approved training institution leading to a qualification approved by the Council for inclusion in the register under rule 5(1)(e) of the Registration and Enrolment Rules 1976(2), as amended.

5. These rules shall come into operation on 5th June 1985.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Rules approved by this Order exempt the fitting of contact lenses by specified classes of persons training as opticians from the restrictions imposed by section 20A(1) of the Opticians Act 1958 (under which, subject to any such exemption, the fitting of contact lenses by a person other than a registered doctor or optician is unlawful) and prescribe the conditions to which the exemption is subject.