In focus: Opticians still reeling from Capita fiasco

Despite the implementation of performance improvement plans, services delivered by Capita for opticians on behalf of NHS England have regressed, a damning report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has said.

While the report found that primary care support services for some of the 39,000 GPs, dentists and pharmacists had improved, opticians were still receiving a payment service that was ‘inconsistent and unreliable,’ with some business owners forced to take out loans when payments were not made.

The NAO was critical of NHS England’s decision to contract with Capita, both to run existing services, but also to transform them simultaneously, describing it as ‘high risk’.