AOP urged to address sight test fee 'scandal'

A group of 36 independent optometrists has called on the Association of Optometrists to ballot its members on changing sight test fee rules to stop practices offering free sight tests then claiming a full fee through the GOS1 form.

In an open letter (Letters page 10) to AOP chief executive Henrietta Alderman, the group condemned companies offering free eye examinations to patients but claiming the full fee from the NHS.

‘It is nothing short of scandalous that companies offering “free sight tests” continue to claim the full, tax payer-funded GOS1 fee at the same time,’ it said.

The 36 signatories suggested that marketing activities offering free sight tests and the like devalue the profession and perpetuate the perception among the public that opticians are simply sellers of spectacles. It added that this ‘aggressive, barrow boy’ promotion ran counter to the profession’s wish to gain acceptance within the wider healthcare community.