29 September 2023

FODO member update - 29 September

This week:

• WGOS regulations laid before Senedd
• WGOS preparations for implementation
• Scottish Parliament and Optometry Scotland celebrate eye care success
• Scotland optometry degree reforms
• GOC news
• England - PCSE IT upgrade starts today
• Other sector news
• Health policy updates

WGOS regulations laid before Senedd

The Welsh Government has today published the amending regulations to bring the WGOS reforms into effect on 20 October.
 
The new regulations and financial directions will give effect to the new WGOS fees and requirements.
 
The new five levels of WGOS will see significant new investment into the sector with fairer fees for clinical work and more work moving out of hospitals to community optical practices - all positive steps in meeting growing eye health need and taking some pressure off hospital services where unacceptable waits are leading to avoidable sight loss. Optometry Wales (OW), the Welsh Government and NHS Wales are to be congratulated on these achievements. 
 
The changes will also introduce significant cuts in the most frequently used voucher values for children and adults on benefits, and the new requirement on contractors to make a pair of basic glasses available to patients issued with an optical voucher. The changes will reduce the voucher value in 99% of cases, which will inevitably affect quality for these patients and income for practices serving less affluent populations. The Welsh Government has, however, agreed to review voucher values for patients annually.
 
The FODO legal and regulatory teams will check the regulations in detail and provide feedback to OW together with the other national bodies.   
 
You can read the full explanatory memorandum, regulations and impact assessments at senedd.wales. 

WGOS preparations for implementation

Members in Wales should now have received the sixth WGOS newsletter, which focuses on the new low vision service. You can also watch recorded webinars to help you prepare for WGOS1, 2 and 5.
 
Please remember to also send your feedback on the WGOS manual to FODO by emailing [email protected]. 

Scottish Parliament and Optometry Scotland celebrate eye care success

Optometry Scotland has been able to showcase its world-leading primary eye care services and the potential of new technologies at its first Scottish Parliament exhibition and reception.
 
Jenni Minto MSP, minister for public health and women's health, Stuart McMillan MSP and convenor of the Cross-Party Group for Visual Impairment, and sector leaders attended the event to celebrate and look forward to further successes together. Read more. 

Scotland optometry degree reforms

The Scottish Government's (SG) chief optometric adviser has set out more detail on planned reforms to optometry undergraduate training and requirements to support optometrists' more clinical roles.
 
In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Glasgow Caledonian University, the University of the Highlands and Islands, NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and the SG agreed to various changes, including:

• Moving optometry education in Scotland from a three-year plus pre-registration bachelor's level qualification to a five-year master's level degree
• Funding to support students' additional clinical experience in the first four years
• A Foundation Training Year at undergraduate level to replace the current pre-requirement comprising two placements of 24 weeks with students receiving an annual salary paid by NES
• Registration as IP optometrists once students satisfactorily complete the five-year master's degree
• A post-registration programme at NES to support clinical decision-making, clinical management skills and mentoring.

GOC news

The GOC Council met on 27 September and discussed its registrant survey (which we reported on in July), strategy and stakeholder development, its consultation on removing gender information from the public register and its annual report and accounts 2022-23. Read more. 

England - PCSE IT upgrade starts today

Reminder: PCSE will be undertaking IT upgrades on 29 and 30 September. Read more. 

Other sector news

• The BBC reports on rising numbers of laser attacks on emergency workers. It is a criminal offence to shine a laser at a moving vehicle. However, an air ambulance crew member recently suffered a burnt cornea after someone shone a laser pointer at his helicopter as it flew. Read more.

• Lily Wakefield from the University of Plymouth wins a FODO prize. Read more.

• The BBC reports on Collette Kerr becoming a visually impaired judo champion.

• Dave Webley BSc (Hons) MCOptom FBCLA, announced as new BCLA chair.

• SeeAbility reports that people in South East London with learning disabilities or autism will be able to access a new eye care service. Read more.

• As Melanie Hingorani retires in October, she steps down as chair of UKOA. Bushra Mushtaq became the new chair from 1 August. Read more.

Health policy updates

Minister Helen Whately believes health beyond the hospital "is the clincher" and should remain a priority. Talking at the NHS Confederation Health beyond the hospital conference, she said people do not want to go to hospital and most prefer to have control over their care and to stay at home. She said: "The next big thing we have to do [...] is to put in place really good, proactive, community-based, multidisciplinary, proactive, anticipatory care."
 
The King's Fund shares its views on the three unanswered questions about moving care closer to home. Its blog reports that despite many years of policy rhetoric about doing more out of hospital and closer to home, the NHS has continued investing in hospital care and gaps in data to help drive change.  
 
Healthcare professional regulators have published their latest joint Whistleblowing disclosures report. The GOC reports that it received 15 disclosures from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. It took regulatory action in four cases, closed three with no action, referred the issue to an alternative body in two cases, and took no further action due to insufficient information in six.