The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has said it will increase GOS sight test fees in England by two per cent from April 2022.
This follows a 1.9 per cent increase in April 2021. The GOS CET allowances and pre-registration supervision grants will also rise by two per cent.
The Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) had pressed the DHSC and NHS England to address the chronic underfunding of the NHS sight test, as well as to close the widening gap between GOS fees and inflation. At the time of the bid, the Bank of England was already forecasting inflation to peak at five per cent in 2022 before correcting to two per cent in 2024. As a result, the OFNC had proposed that the sight test fee should be increased to £23.26 (+seven per cent) whereas DHSC is proposing £22.14.
The OFNC said it was “acutely disappointed with this response” and that it “had left the DHSC in no doubt that the proposed two per cent increase will be a blow to primary eyecare providers who have shown an active commitment to delivering health care throughout the pandemic to meet public needs and reduce pressures on secondary care. With inflation rapidly rising month by month, we have made it clear to the DHSC that this is a real terms cut to funding and that the ongoing underfunding of primary eye care in England is likely to result in reduced capacity exactly when patients and the NHS need it most”.
The DHSC has also laid regulations, which will increase NHS optical voucher values by two per cent from April 2022.
“Voucher values are an important patient benefit for those that need this support, and it is right that they are increasing after six years of being frozen and declining in real terms,” said the OFNC.
GOS Fees and Grants 2022-23:
• Sight test £22.14
• Domiciliary additional £39.04 for first and second test; £9.77 for third and subsequent tests
• CET grant £596
• Pre-registration supervision grant £3,837
The optical bodies said they would be issuing an updated Vouchers at a Glance to reflect the new patient voucher values as soon as possible.