S+W Out of Hours, CPD Day, Second Pairs & Adult GOS4, ERS & GIRFT, OFNC Survey

3. Adult GOS 4 Repairs and Second Pair Requests – a Reminder
   
   The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has published a short guide, HERE, on GOS 4 pre-authorisation requests to repair or replace a patient’s glasses in England. It covers how to check if your patient qualifies and how to get pre-authorisation. Under GOS regulations:

   Regarding second pairs, they advise:
   “You can request a spare pair for a patient by contacting your Area Team using the form HERE and sending it by secure email to hweicbhv.optical@nhs.net  stating your case for a second pair of spectacles, including as much detail as possible regarding the frequency of repair/replace and disruption for this patient. Once you have received a decision from NHS England, you must retain a copy of the application form for your records for post payment verification purposes. If the application has been approved, you should submit a GOS3 to PCSE, NOT a GOS4.   

4. OFNC Response to Government Announcement On ERS and GIRFT
   
   Following the Government’s announcement of “GIRFT”  (Get It Right First Time) glaucoma guidance and the planned roll-out of a national Electronic Referral Service (ERS) for eye care in England, HERE, OFNC’s response can be found at the bottom of this newsletter. Any queries around this should initially come to us at admin@HertsLOC.org.uk and we will forward them accordingly.

5. “UNFUNDED WORK” OFNC SURVEY, ALL CONTRACTORS TO COMPLETE PLEASE!
   Further to our previous emails, this is a gentle reminder that OFNC need your help building an evidence base in their negotiations with the Dept of Health and Social Care (DHSC). NHS spending is being even more tightly managed this year. OFNC say:
   “The aim is to systematically gather evidence about unfunded activity linked to GOS delivery and related work in addition to other cost pressures which can be discussed with ministers and senior officials as part of the current year’s fees round before the summer break. No submitted material will be shared other than in an aggregate and non-identifiable statistical format.”
   The Survey Link is HERE for ONE CONTRACTOR per practice to complete please

   They have asked that there is only one form completed per practice (ODS code) to prevent duplication and to gather a balanced, considered but significant response. Please complete it as accurately as possible and include your ODS code, otherwise the data may not be able to be included.

   The closing date is 22nd June.

   This is an opportunity for your voice to be heard. We cannot guarantee change but we can be sure that if we don’t build an evidence base then our concerns will never be heard. The more responses received, the more weight this survey will carry. This is a pivotal moment in the future of GOS funding.

   You may have already had this request via other channels, however OFNC and the sector bodies need as many responses as possible.

   If you are a Performer or a member of support staff, please also talk to your Contractor / Manager / Owner about this survey and the extra work you do on behalf of them that they cannot claim for.

   Any queries around this survey can be sent via us at admin@HertsLOC.org.uk 

   Thank you.

6. Hertfordshire Local Optical Committee Constitution
   Herts LOC works to a written constitution in order to remain representative, transparent and balanced, as mandated in the NHS Act 1949.

   At the CPD day in July, we will be holding a short Extraordinary General Meeting at which we propose to adopt a new constitution. The previous document dates from 2016 and is no longer fit for purpose. The new version, drafted by LOCSU, is much more thorough and robust around areas such as finance, declarations of interest, eligibility to be a committee member and the running of the committee.

   As you know, the LOC is funded by a small levy on every NHS eye examination and GOS spectacle voucher – we represent you and so all practitioners in Herts who provide GOS services will have the opportunity to attend vote to allow us to adopt the new constitution, or otherwise.

   The draft document can be found HERE. An addition which clarifies the terms of office or members can be found HERE. Any questions or queries on the proposed constitution should be send to admin@HertsLOC.org.uk by 10pm on Saturday 27th June 2026.

7. LOCSU News
   
   Is HERE, including LOCSU Urges Use of Optometry in Frailty Care Following Public Accounts Committee Report, Glaucoma Care Reimagined: Empowering Primary Care Optometry Webinar and LOCSU Launch New Series of Glaucoma Case Studies
8. FODO News
   Is HERE, including GOC signs up to race equity shared principles, future changes to Ophthalmic payments administration relating to recording details of students assisting with sight tests and Digital care for blind and vision impaired.

 

Kind regards

Herts LOC
 

The Government’s announcement of glaucoma guidance and the planned roll-out of a national Electronic Referral Service (ERS) for eye care in England and access to the National Care Records Service (NCRS) are built on good intentions and long overdue.

In the case of the glaucoma services recommended by GIRFT for delivery in primary care, these must be funded through Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) if the NHS is finally to prevent avoidable sight loss due to delays in the hospital eye service.

Improving IT connectivity in eye care is much needed. But in the case of the Government’s ERS announcement today – and the £20m put forward to fund it – they have failed to provide the proper financial underpinning that practices will need to operationalise delivery. It is clearly not a fully costed plan and does not commit to compensate practices for the ongoing clinical and administrative time required to implement new systems like ERS or NCRS.

We also note ERS will require further work to build the functionality to support the clinical activity in primary care.

These announcements come at a time when the NHS sight testing service, on which the digital ambition rests, is already seriously underfunded and lagging behind the rest of primary care in terms of NHS investment. As a result, we know that contractors who are already struggling will simply be unable to take on any additional unfunded work involved in using these new systems.

For a rollout of a national ERS for eye care to have any chance of success, there needs to be serious discussion about the maintenance of infrastructure funding and implementation along with operational costs of digital working with hospitals. This needs to happen urgently so that practices can have confidence in the future and support the Government’s aims. Without that, the ambitions announced today will not deliver the claimed benefits for patients, much as we would all like them to do so.