08 March 2024

FODO member update - 8 March

This week:

• OFNC update on GOS fees 2024/25
• PSA publishes its latest review of GOC performance
• Managing risk - clinicians practising without GOC registration
• The value of speaking with one voice
• Wales updates
• Other sector news
• Policy news
• Spring Budget 2024

OFNC update on GOS fees 2024/25

The OFNC has advised the sector that it has been unable to accept the "the very low offer" made by NHS England and DHSC because "it would be detrimental to the sector and government's own plan to use primary eye care to take pressure off GPs and hospitals and reduce avoidable blindness for patients, particularly those on long hospital waiting lists". Read the full OFNC statement. 

PSA publishes its latest review of GOC performance

The PSA has published its annual performance review of GOC for 2022/23, which monitors the GOC's performance against the Standards of Good Regulation (the standards).
 
The GOC met all 18 standards. Dr Anne Wright CBE, GOC chair, said: "The report is a testament to our commitment to maintain the positive changes made in relation to the timeliness of fitness to practise investigations and we will continue to make further improvements." 
 
Chief executive and registrar Leonie Milliner said: "We will continue to build on this positive performance review in our ambition to become a world-class regulator. " 

Managing risk - clinicians practising without GOC registration

At FODO, we work in partnership with Clyde & Co's Healthcare Regulatory team to ensure you get the support you need. Clyde & Co has authored an article to help practice owners avoid individuals practising without GOC registration and to provide guidance on what to do if this happens in your practice. As we approach GOC renewal, and such cases peak at this time of year, read the article to help prevent risk, cost and time lost in managing this avoidable scenario.

The value of speaking with one voice

Community Pharmacy England, the Company Chemists' Association, the National Pharmacy Association and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society have published a #VotePharmacy manifesto before the general election. It calls on election candidates to "show their support and back a six-point plan to unleash the potential of community pharmacy". The plan includes addressing the funding gap in pharmacy so pharmacies can deliver more of the NHS care patients need.
 
Harjit Sandhu, FODO managing director, said: "Speaking with one voice is the best way to be heard. It shows election candidates a sector is united and ready to deliver. In primary eye care, there is a growing consensus that we need to call on the government in England to address the NHS funding gap in eye care, drive the commissioning of more enhanced services closer to home to help ease pressure on hospitals and prevent avoidable sight loss, and invest in IT connectivity to unleash the potential of our eye care workforce and infrastructure."
 
He added: "FODO will continue to work with partners throughout and beyond the general election to speak with one voice and maximise our chances of meeting eye health needs, preventing all cases of sight loss due to delays in secondary care and delivering the zero-carbon agenda."

Wales updates

Reminder: Members in Wales should complete this CPD claims form and submit it by email to [email protected] by 12 March. 

The 10^th edition of WGOS news is now available. It explains how you can register for a webinar on WGOS4 on 12 March from 12-1pm.  

Other sector news

• Marsha de Cordova MP wrote to the Treasury ahead of the Budget to request greater investment in the nation's eye health.
• Royal College of Ophthalmologists and College of Optometrists have updated their joint care vision. The statement commits to working together to support safe and sustainable eye care services in England. Read more.
• The Ophthalmologist is hosting a webinar on using the latest technology to facilitate shared care between optometrists and ophthalmologists. The event occurs on 27 March at 4pm GMT (5pm CET). Read more and register.
• The RNID has published a Low Vision Service Quality Framework to help services provide an equitable service to all people with low vision in the UK.
• College of Optometrists reports on its progress in developing its Clinical Learning in Practice programme (CLiP) to support the patient-facing element of new master's degrees. Read more.
• SPOKE releases Indicative Guidance for Contact Lens Opticians and Independent Prescribers. Read more.
• Professor Leon Davies FCOptom new chair at the College of Optometrists.

Policy news

Healthwatch calls for change
 
Healthwatch has published What patients want: a vision for the NHS in 2030, developed using experiences of care from over 10 million people over the past 10 years. The organisation says 43% of people believe "the NHS cannot meet the whole country's needs", and we must now focus on making the NHS easier to access and navigate, tackle health inequalities and build a patient-centred culture.
 
Daniel Hodgson, FODO head of policy and public affairs, said: "As England's health and social care champion, Healthwatch has been speaking up for people with vision and hearing needs for more than 10 years. We support its call to action which aligns with our vision for primary eye care and primary care audiology."
 
Health spending falls in England and Scotland
 
The IFS reports that despite sizeable in-year 'top-ups' to health budgets in 2023-24 of £75 per person in England (£4.4bn in total) and £110 per person in Scotland (£605m in total), England will experience a 2.4% real-terms year-on-year cut in spending and Scotland a 0.75% cut. Read more.
 
Medical malpractice insurance reform
 
Maria Caulfield, minister for mental health and women's health strategy, has made a statement on clinical indemnities reform. The statement follows a review of medical malpractice insurance provided by organisations operating discretionary schemes that allow discretion to be applied to accept or refuse claims. 
 
Organisations operating discretionary schemes have agreed to implement a sector-led Code of Practice by the end of 2024 to "provide greater transparency around this system of discretionary indemnity". 
 
FODO members should note that our medical malpractice insurance is provided through regulated insurance with terms and conditions set out contractually. It is not a discretionary scheme and, therefore, you do not need to do anything differently if you arrange your medical malpractice insurance through us. 

Spring Budget 2024

The BBC has provided a quick guide to what the Spring Budget means for you.

Key points to note from the Office for Budget Responsibility and HM Treasury:

• No real growth in most public services spending over the next five years
• Investment in "NHS technological and digital transformation" will focus on upgrading the NHS App, establishing a universal electronic patient record and reducing the time frontline clinicians spend on administration. The Treasury forecasts that this investment will "unlock £35 billion in cumulative productivity savings from 2025-26 to 2029-30" and "turn the NHS into one of the most digitally enabled, productive healthcare systems in the world."
• IT spending will also be invested in AI automating back-office functions - e.g. record-keeping, coding of notes, and drafting letters, etc.
• The Government expects this IT investment to deliver above-average productivity growth, providing the "upper end of the 1.5-2% ambition over 15 years set out in the Long Term Workforce Plan last year". The IFS previously described this as "an extremely ambitious target well above what the NHS is estimated to have achieved in the past" with official data showing NHS productivity increased by 0.8% per year between 1995 and 2019.