Bermuda Consolidated Legislation

BERMUDA
1973 : 54

OPTOMETRISTS AND OPTICIANS ACT 1973

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

1 Interpretation

2 Act not to apply in rela tion to certain armed forces

3 The Optometrists and Opticians Council

4 Establishment and main tenance of registers

5 Proof of registration

6 Removal of names from register for crime, infa mous conduct, incapacity etc.

7 Registration after removal of name from register

8 Power of Council to obtain information

9 Statement as to proper or improper conduct

10 Use of titles

11 Penalty for false repre sentations, etc., to obtain registration

12 Unlawful practice

13 Regulations and rules

14 Consequential amend ments [omitted]

15 Transitional [omitted]

16 Commencement [omitted]

SCHEDULE

[2 July 1973]

[preamble and words of enactment omitted]

Interpretation

1 In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

"Bermuda Medical Council" means the Bermuda Medical Council constituted under the Medical Practitioners Act 1950 [title 30 item 8];

"Council" means the Optometrists and Opticians Council estab lished under section 3;

"medical practitioner" means a person entitled to practise in Bermuda as a medical practitioner under the Medical Practi tioners Act 1950;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Health;

"optometrist" means a person skilled in the examination of eyes, the recognition of diseased conditions of the eyes, the fitting and prescribing of contact lenses, spectacles and other aids to improve sight, and in the manufacture of frames and lenses;

"optician" means a person skilled in the fitting of spectacles and other aids to improve sight and in advising on types of lenses or frames to be used, or in the manufacture of lenses or frames, according to prescription;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations;

"registered" means registered under section 4;

"regulations" means regulations prescribed under section 13;

"rules" means rules prescribed under section 13.

Act not to apply in relation to certain armed forces

2 Nothing in this Act shall apply to the practice of his profession by an optometrist or optician who is an officer or employee of any of the naval, military or air forces of Her Majesty or of the United States of America —

(a) on or in relation to a person who is a member of such a force or the family of such a member; or

(b) on or in relation to a person who is employed directly by such a force.

The Optometrists and Opticians Council

3 (1) There shall be established a body of persons to be called the Optometrists and Opticians Council, which shall have the general func tion of promoting high standards of professional education and profes sional conduct among members of the professions of optometrist and optician and such other functions as may be imposed upon them by or under this Act or any other statutory provision.

(2) The Council shall consist of —

(a) a Chairman appointed by the Minister;

(b) one member, who shall be a medical practitioner ap pointed by the Minister after consultation with the Bermuda Medical Council;

(c) three members elected by registered optometrists and registered opticians from amongst themselves.

(3) The incidental provisions contained in the Schedule shall have effect with respect to the Council.

Establishment and maintenance of registers

4 (1) No person shall practise the profession of optometrist or optician in Bermuda unless his name appears on the register maintained by the Minister in respect of his profession for the purposes of this Act.

(2) A person seeking to be registered shall make application therefor in the prescribed manner to the Minister.

(3) Subject to section 6 and the regulations a person shall be registered if he satisfies the Council —

(a) that he holds a qualification for the time being accepted for the purposes of this Act by the Council; and

(b) if the Council so requires, that he has had sufficient practical experience in his profession,

and he is other wise, in the opinion of the Council, a fit and proper per son to be registered.

(4) The Minister shall register a person carrying on the profes sion of optometrist or optician in Bermuda on 1 June 1974 notwith standing that he does not hold a qualification of the nature specified in subsection (3)(a) if the Council is of the opinion that such person is com petent to practise such profession.

(5) In determining whether a person is a fit and proper person to be registered in accordance with the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) the Council may require that person to undergo such tests or exami nations as it may consider appropriate.

(6) Notice of the acceptance of a qualification for the purposes of subsection (3) shall be published in the Gazette.

Proof of registration

5 A certificate purporting to be under the hand of the Permanent Secretary, Department of Health declaring that a person named therein is, or is not, as the case may be, registered in any register maintained under this Act, and in the case of a person who is so registered specify ing the date of registration shall be admissible in any proceedings as prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.

Removal of names from register for crime, infamous conduct, inca pacity etc.

6 (1) Where —

(a) a person whose name appears on a register is convicted by any court in Bermuda or elsewhere of a criminal of fence which, in the opinion of the Council, renders him unfit to be registered; or

(b) such a person is, in the opinion of the Council, guilty of infamous conduct in any professional respect; or

(c) the Council is satisfied that the name of such a person has been fraudulently entered on the register main tained by it; or

(d) the Council is satisfied that such a person is, by reason of mental disorder or incapacity, incapable of carrying on his profession,

the Council may, if it thinks fit, direct that the person's name shall be removed from the regis ter.

(2) A direction shall not be given under subsection (1) save af ter an inquiry in accordance with the regulations.

(3) Any person aggrieved by a direction of the Council under subsection (1) may, at any time within twenty-eight days from the date of receiving notice of the direction, appeal against the direction to the Supreme Court in accordance with the rules.

(4) A direction for the removal of a name from the register shall take effect —

(a) where no appeal under this section is brought against the direction within the time limited for the appeal, on the expiration of that time;

(b) where such an appeal is brought and is withdrawn or struck out for want of prosecution, on the withdrawal or

striking out of the appeal;

(c) where such an appeal is brought and is not withdrawn or struck out as aforesaid, if and when the appeal is dismissed.

Registration after removal of name from register

7 A person whose name is removed from a register in pursuance of a direction of the Council under section 6 shall not be entitled to be reg istered in that register again except in pursuance of a direction in that behalf given by the Council on the application of that person; and a di rection under section 6 for the removal of a person's name from the reg ister may prohibit an application under this section by that person until the expiration of such period from the date of the direction as may be specified in the direction.

Power of Council to obtain information

8 (1) For the purpose of an inquiry under section 6 (2) the Coun cil shall have power by order under the hand of the Chairman to require any person to attend before the Council and to give evidence on oath or otherwise, and to require the production of documents, so as to elicit all such information as the Council may consider necessary.

(2) Any person who —

(a) fails without reasonable excuse to attend before the Council in compliance with an order under subsection (1);

(b) when in attendance before the Council refuses to make an oath, or refuses to produce a document, or refuses to give evidence, in compliance with such an order as aforesaid,

commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $250.

Provided that the person shall not be punished for refusing to answer any question or to produce any document which he could not be required to answer or produce before a court of Bermuda, or for failing or refusing to answer any question or produce any document which is not relevant to the matters in issue.

Statement as to proper or improper conduct

9 (1) It shall be the duty of the Council to prepare, and from time to time to revise, a statement as to the kind of conduct which the Coun cil considers to be proper or improper conduct in a professional respect, and the Council shall send by post to each registered optometrist and optician at his address on the register, a copy of the statement as for the time being revised.

(2) In the exercise of its functions under section 6 the council shall be guided by any relevant statement prepared under this section but it may, hold a person guilty of infamous conduct in a professional respect notwithstanding that such conduct is not prohibited by the statement; but the Council shall not hold a person guilty of infamous conduct in a professional respect if such conduct is authorised by the statement.

Use of titles

10 (1) A registered optometrist and optician shall be entitled to use the respective titles of "Registered Optometrist" and "Registered Opti cian".

(2) Any person who —

(a) takes or uses whether alone or in conjunction with any other words the title of Government registered op tometrist or optician, Government optometrist or opti cian or registered optometrist or optician when his name is not on the register established under this Act in re spect of these professions; or

(b) takes or uses any name, title, addition or description falsely implying, or otherwise pretends, that his name is on a register established under this Act,

commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $250 and, in respect of a second or subsequent conviction, a fine of $500.

Penalty for false representations, etc., to obtain registration

11 If a person procures or attempts to procure the entry of any name on a register established under this Act by wilfully making or pro ducing or causing to be made or produced, either verbally or in writing, any declaration, certificate or representation which he knows to be false, he commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $250.

Unlawful practice

12 (1) No person shall —

(a) practise as an optometrist unless he is a registered op tometrist;

(b) practise as an optician unless he is a registered optician;

(c) examine the eyes of another person unless he is regis tered as an optometrist;

(d) manufacture or sell any appliance designed to remedy or relieve a defect of sight unless he is a registered op tometrist or registered optician.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall have effect in relation to the practice of medicine or surgery by a registered medical practitioner.

(3) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $250 and, in respect of a second or subsequent conviction, a fine of $500.

Regulations and rules

13 (1) The Minister may make regulations for the better adminis tration of this Act and, without derogation from the generality of the fore going such regulations may —

(a) prescribe anything which, under this Act, is required or permitted to be prescribed;

(b) prescribe fees payable by an applicant for registration under this Act or in connection with any examination or test required to be undertaken by such an applicant;

(c) prescribe the procedure to be followed by the Council in the exercise of its powers under section 6;

(d) prescribe the manner in which any notice required by this Act or the regulations to be served on any person shall be served;

(e) regulate the making of applications for registration and provide for the evidence to be produced in support of applications;

(f) provide for the notification to the Council of any partic ulars entitling a person to registration; or

(g) regulate the procedure of the Council including the quo rum thereof.

(2) The power of the Chief Justice to make rules under section 62 of the Supreme Court Act 1905 [title 8 item 1] shall extend to the making of rules regulating the practice and procedure to be followed on an appeal to the Supreme Court under section 6, and the fees payable in connection therewith.

(3) The negative resolution procedure shall apply to regulations made under subsection (1).

(4) Section 6 of the Statutory Instruments Act 1977 [title 1 item 3] shall not apply to regulations made under subsection (2).

Consequential amendments

14 [omitted]

Transitional

15 [omitted]

Commencement

16 [omitted]

[this Act was brought into operation on 1 June 1974 by GN 228/1974]

SCHEDULE

1 A member of the Council shall be appointed or elected, as the case may be, for a period of one year beginning on such day as may be determined by the Minister.

2 A member of the Council may resign his office at any time by notice in writing given to the Minister.

3 The Minister may declare the office of a member of the Council vacant if he is satisfied that the member —

(a) is unable through mental or physical incapacity or ab sence from Bermuda to perform the functions of his of fice;

(b) has failed, without adequate cause, to attend three suc cessive meetings of the Council;

(c) has been sentenced to imprisonment for the commission of a criminal offence;

(d) has had his name removed from the register under sec tion 6.

4 (1) A person appointed or elected to fill the place of a member of the Council before the end of the member's term of office shall hold of fice so long only as the vacating member would have held office.

(2) Where the place of a member of the Council becomes vacant before the end of his term of office and the unexpired portion of his term of office is less than three months, the vacancy need not be filled.

5 A person who has held office as a member of the Council shall be eligible for re-appointment or re-election, as the case may be.

6 The Council may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its mem bership, and no act of the Council shall be deemed to be invalid only by reason of a defect in the appointment or election of a member thereof.

7 The Council shall meet as often as may be necessary for it to dispatch its business under this Act.

8 A minute shall be made of every decision of the Council in such form as the Minister may direct.

9 (1) Where any matter is before the Council under section 4 or 6, a member of the Council may, with the leave of the Chairman, with draw on the ground that he is personally acquainted with the facts of the case or for any other reason which the Chairman deems sufficient and the Chairman may himself withdraw on any such ground.

(2) Where a member has so withdrawn, the Chairman may re quest the Minister to appoint some person, who need not be a practi tioner of the profession of optometrist or optician, to be a member of the Council for the purpose of those proceedings, and the Minister may, if he thinks fit, make such an appointment, whereupon the person so ap pointed shall be deemed to be a member of the Council for such purpose.

10 The election of members to the Council shall be conducted in such manner as the Minister may approve and any dispute as to who is, or who is not, entitled to vote at such an election shall be determined by the Minister.

11 In any matter before the Council the Chairman or person acting as Chairman shall have a deliberative as well as a casting vote.

12 Subject to the foregoing provisions of this Schedule and the reg ulations, the Council may determine its quorum and procedure.

For the purposes of this Schedule a reference to a member or the mem bership of the Council shall, unless the context requires otherwise, be construed as including the Chairman.