21 August 2020

FODO Friday’s roundup – sector news 21 August

This week’s news

1. NHS mail applications and access to free PPE for GOS contractors
2. New report on social and economic impact of sight loss in the UK
3. HMRC starts CJRS compliance activity
4. Face coverings update – England
5. Artificial intelligence in optometry
6. New website platform for LOCs
7. NHS braces itself to tackle waiting lists
8. Government creates new National Institute for Health Protection

1.    NHS mail applications and access to free PPE for GOS contractors

Members in England should note that NHS England and Improvement (NHSE-I) has now published further advice and guidance on setting up an NHS mail account and ordering NHS-funded PPE.

Members who do not already have an NHS mail account should complete the online application process. NHSE-I has confirmed that it will provide contractors (the practice) with a shared mailbox with an additional two NHS mail addresses for nominated practice staff.  To support contractors to complete this process, NHSE-I has now deferred the need to complete the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT) until 31 March 2021. Contractors will, however, still need to register for the DSPT on receipt of their NHS mail account.

Members who already have an NHS mail account should still complete the online process. Doing so will ensure the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has their details to provide NHS-funded PPE.

Once your email address is registered with the DHSC, it will contact you directly to invite you to register for the online portal to access NHS-funded PPE. 

Read more about the process and benefits of an NHS mail account, including access to NHS-funded PPE, GOS4 authorisation requests with the NHS Business Services Authority, and improved communications systems.

2.    New report on social and economic impact of sight loss in the UK

Fight for Sight will publish its ‘Time to Focus’ report on 16 September, which will highlight the social and economic impact of sight loss in the UK.

The charity will also be launching a costing tool to help make a case for more research into eye health. The report will include health economic and other data from peer-reviewed research conducted by academics at the London School of Economics.

Register to take part in the launch of the new report on 16 September 3.30pm to 5pm.

3.    HMRC starts CJRS compliance activity

HMRC plans to enhance its compliance activity on Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) grants. It will start by writing to 3,000 employers who may need to repay the claim in full or part. HMRC advises that these letters are going to cases where:

• The business might have claimed more CJRS grant than they are entitled to

• The business might not have met CJRS grant conditions – e.g. including employees who were not eligible.

The letter will ask businesses to review CJRS claims and to repay any overpaid grants voluntarily to avoid being charged a penalty for any errors in a claim. Members who receive such a letter should contact their accountants as soon as possible.   

4.    Face coverings update – England

New guidance issued on 14 August sets out how face coverings “are needed in NHS settings, including hospitals and primary or community care settings, such as GP surgeries”. However, the regulations underpinning the use of face coverings in England remain unchanged. Members in England should, therefore, continue to follow the College of Optometrists’ advice on face coverings.

5.    Artificial intelligence in optometry

The College of Optometrists this week carries a feature by optometrist and researcher Reena Chopra about using AI systems to estimate the progression of wet AMD patients. In the blog, Reena explains how her PhD explored how ‘binocular OCT’ might be used to provide automated quantitative measurements to aid clinical decision making. She goes on to explain how AI can extract more data from images than clinicians in some cases. Perhaps crucially in terms of preventing sight loss, the blog also explores the predictive abilities of AI in eye care. Read the full blog.

6.    New website platform for LOCs

The LOCSU has now launched a new website platform for LOCs to make websites more accessible for LOC members to build and update. The WordPress-based system will also allow LOCSU to generated new content centrally. LOCs who would like to switch to LOC-online can contact [email protected].

7.    NHS braces itself to tackle waiting lists

The HSJ reported this week that the NHS is to spend £10bn on using independent hospitals over the next four years to tackle waiting lists as a result of the pandemic and the capacity challenges it has created.

The HSJ also quoted an NHS England spokesman: “Tens of thousands more people will be able to benefit from quicker access to surgery and other procedures, as well as vital tests and checks over the coming weeks, as a result of this deal, which is good news for patients.”

In a letter this week, NHSE-I confirmed that independent sector capacity would be funded “either via the national contracting arrangements or through the nationally determined funding envelopes”.

Read the prior information notice (PIN) which the HSJ article is about.

8.    Government creates new National Institute for Health Protection

The DHSC announced this week it would establish the National Institute for Health Protection (NIHP) as a new public health protection agency focused on tackling infection diseases.

Initially, the NIHP will work closely with Public Health England (PHE) and NHS Test and Trace, but the new structure has cast doubts on the future of the PHE, which is only seven years old.

Chris Hopson, NHS Providers, said: “We will need clarity on what will happen to PHE’s wider responsibilities for addressing the determinants of health and supporting work to reduce health inequalities. For more than a decade, public health has yo-yo’ed between local and national, NHS and local government and a string of different national organisations. We must get this next change right, recognising that the NHS, local government and wider public services are all key to effective public health. We also need the comprehensive spending review to confirm proper investment in public health going forward.”