12 July 2024

FODO member update - 12 July

This week:

• Primary eye care calls on government to deliver change
• England - GOS updates
• Wales - don't miss out on future opportunities
• 2025 SightCare Awards - Now open
• College gets ready to launch apprenticeship
• At a glance
• Policy news

Primary eye care calls on government to deliver change

ABDO, AOP and FODO have written to the new government to follow up on pre-election and manifesto commitments to work with primary eye care to tackle long hospital ophthalmology waiting times. 
 
In a joint statement, the primary eye care representative bodies said they would work with new ministers and NHS leadership to deliver commitments made on the campaign trail and in the manifesto. The statement calls on the government and NHS in England to transform eye care services by delivering more care out of hospital and closer to home.
 
The College of Optometrists has also written to Wes Streeting to express its support for transforming eye care services and delivering more care closer to home.
 
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists also backed the call for more care to be provided out of hospitals, stating: "The new government is right to prioritise making better use of the facilities and expertise in primary care optometry." 

England - GOS updates

In 2023, we advised members about planned changes to GOS regulations, which came into effect on 1 November 2023 and 1 January 2024. NHS England has now amended the GOS model contracts for mandatory and additional services to reflect these changes in regulation. Commissioners will contact GOS contractors shortly to issue the variation notices.
 
NHS BSA has now published GOS activity data 2020-23. FODO said: "The GOS dataset covers the pandemic downturn and recovery period. It shows that 12.79 million NHS sight tests were performed in 2022-23, compared to 13.36 million pre-pandemic. Had it not been for the pandemic, we would expect sight test uptake to increase at about 2% per year on average, mainly driven by people aged 60 and older, resulting in an estimated 14.5 million NHS sight tests in 2023-24. FODO is analysing this data to explain the variation." 

Wales - don't miss out on future opportunities

HEIW says it will only circulate opportunities for sponsored course places using Tractivity in future. It will also use the platform for newsletters, surveys, consultations and other updates. Register via Tractivity to avoid missing notifications for future sponsored course places. 

2025 SightCare Awards - Now open

The SightCare Awards recognise the best independent opticians in the UK. The 2025 Awards celebrate the 'independent spirit' and include the following categories: the Independent Practice of the Year, Customer Service Excellence, Practice Team, Community Practice, Frame Styling Practice, Environmental Practice and two new categories for 2025 - Clinical Excellence and the Members' Choice Special Award. Learn more and submit your nominations. 

College gets ready to launch apprenticeship

ABDO College says the GOC is considering its application to introduce a new apprenticeship route to registration for DOs. It hopes to launch its new apprenticeship programme in September 2024. ABDO College asks employers with experience in running apprenticeships to get in touch. Read more. 

At a glance

• The Optician reports on domiciliary complaints managed by OCCS
• GOC announces that the University of Manchester will begin to deliver an MSci Optometry qualification and Cardiff University a Postgraduate Certificate in Therapeutic Prescribing for Optometrists from September 2024
• FODO responds to GOC strategy consultation. 

Policy news

The Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed these ministers:

• Wes Streeting, secretary of state for health and social care
• Stephen Kinnock MP, minister of state for care, will be responsible for primary eye care services 
• Karin Smyth MP, minister of state for health (secondary care), will also have a large portfolio, including system oversight, workforce, elective care and finance
• Andrew Gwynne MP, parliamentary under-secretary of state for public health and prevention
• Baroness Merron, parliamentary under-secretary of state for patient safety, women's health and mental health.

This month, the health and social care secretary, Wes Streeting, has:

• Said the NHS is broken and he is committed to fixing it. Read more
• Pledged billions to improve access to primary care, although the initial focus is on improving access to GPs. Read more
• Appointed professor Lord Darzi to report on the state of the NHS in England. Read more
• Announced that his department will expand its focus to boost economic growth through training and education, investment in UK life sciences and technology and cutting waiting lists to help more people back into work. Read more.

Pulse reports that Alan Milburn, who supports greater control and choice for patients over their care, will return to the NHS as an adviser to Wes Streeting. Read more.

The BMA has welcomed a commitment by the new government to invest more in primary care but has warned this should not come at a cost to hospitals. Read more.
 
Following its article on a 'boom in cataract surgery', this week the Guardian reports on a survey by the Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI) that shows some ophthalmologists have concerns about independent sector provision of NHS cataract surgery. 198  ophthalmologists responded to the CHPI survey, of which 130 (66%) were consultants. Of the 130 consultants, representing less than 9% of the consultant workforce, 68 felt the independent sector had a largely negative impact on patient care and 25 said it had a largely positive impact, others reported varying degrees of impact.