NHS England – Cheshire & Merseyside has confirmed the process for providing GOS sight tests to individuals and families arriving in the UK under the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme (Homes for Ukraine)

Refugees resettling in the UK are entitled to free NHS care and are usually issued with HC2 certificates (confirming eligibility for full help with health costs) within two weeks of arrival.

If a patient attends an optometry practice without their HC2 certificate, they are still eligible for a GOS sight test.

The advice to optometrists is to complete a GOS form as standard, using the bridging hotel/temporary address as the patient’s address.

‘Universal credit’ should be selected as the eligibility criteria, with the ‘evidence not seen’ box ticked.

We advise optometrists to make a note on the patient’s record that the eligibility criteria has been recorded in accordance with local area team guidance on submitting GOS claims for Ukraine refugees.

Kind regards

Lynn

Commissioning Directorate

NHS England and NHS Improvement – North West