Simon Jones: A slap in the face

It’s the time of year when the optometric sector gets its annual dose of ‘what the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England really think of us’ news through the medium of the Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC). Some refer to it as a ‘reality check’; while others, and I prefer this one, call it ‘a slap in the face’.

If you’re thinking ‘that slap in the face has come a little later this year’, then you’re right, but it’s sadly not a case of ‘no news is good news’. In its recent update explaining there was no update on GOS fees and grants for 2024/25, the OFNC says the delay was because it had been unable to accept the ‘very low’ offer from DHSC and NHS England, which represented ‘another real-terms cut and is lower than that for the NHS as a whole.’