NHS England has announced immediate changes to the delivery and operation of primary eyecare services in England.
The 1 April 2020 announcement, described as “belated” by the Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC), includes details of support payments for practices continuing to provide essential care for patients during the Covid-19 crisis. These practices will be expected to follow guidance from the General Optical Council and the optical sector bodies on how to provide this care safely. The support payments will be based on average past General Ophthalmic Services payments between March 2019 and February 2020.
The OFNC, Local Optical Committee Support Unit and others said they were “now working urgently with NHS England to put in place local urgent and emergency care services where these do not already exist in primary eyecare”.
The OFNC said it had repeatedly called for urgent financial support “to offset the catastrophic impact the crisis continues to have on optical practices”, with all routine sight testing suspended in line with public health guidance and many practices being forced to close their doors.
“The primary eyecare community in England has stood ready to play its full part in supporting people with essential, urgent and emergency eye care needs throughout this crisis,” it stated.
“Today’s announcement should provide a vital lifeline so that patients continue to benefit from eye health services. We are seeing the detail for the first time today, and the proposed stability funding appears to differ from that available in other parts of the UK in a number of ways. The OFNC will work with stakeholders to support all practices that are able to continue to offer care to their local population during the crisis. We will provide more guidance this week.”
OFNC chair, Paul Carroll, commented: “The crisis has placed a great burden on frontline practitioners and practices across England. Today’s announcement throws the sector a lifeline even though there is a lot of detail to work through. The new support must be used to help more practices keep running through this very difficult time, and to reduce pressure on GPs and hospitals.
“We look forward to working together with the primary care optical team at NHS England to make sure practices can access support as quickly as possible.”
The OFNC pledged to work with NHS England to clarify these arrangements and provide further guidance as needed throughout the crisis.
Read the letter from NHS England in full here.
For more information, visit ABDO’s Covid-19 guidance page here.