The Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) has welcomed the publication of the Covid-19 Urgent Eyecare Service (CUES) to provide urgent and emergency services in primary care settings during the pandemic.
The new service framework is expected to be particularly helpful in those areas of England where there are currently no locally commissioned urgent eyecare services in primary care. It must be commissioned rapidly in those areas, so that patients with urgent eyecare needs can receive care without having to visit a GP or hospital.
The OFNC has issued an updated set of FAQs on primary eyecare services during the Covid-19 crisis, including information on the key features of CUES. Contractors and practitioners should direct further questions to their representative bodies, using the contact details in the FAQs.
OFNC guidance on changes to primary eyecare in England
As set out in the OFNC statement of 1 April 2020, this addresses the main questions raised by members so far about the NHS England optical letter of 1 April 2020 (001559) and other recent developments.
The OFNC FAQs has been endorsed by the NHS England-Improvement optical commissioning team. Practitioners with any difficulty in explaining their arrangements to their area team are advised to refer them to the FAQs.
The OFNC said it would update this guidance as the situation developed, and as it received more information from NHS England and queries from the members of the OFNC bodies.
Practitioners are advised to always check they are accessing the most recent version.
This version of the FAQs was updated on 18 April 2020. New questions are marked ‘[NEW]’ for ease of reference.
Find answers to all questions here.