Further delays in 2017 CET grant payments have been confirmed by Primary Care Support England (PCSE).
Speaking at the NOC last month, PCSE managing director Paul Dawson told delegates the organisation expected to have the backlog of claims processed by the end of November in time for payment in December, but PCSE said this had now slipped to January.
The Optical Confederation said it would be meeting with NHS England to stress that delays to these payments were unacceptable to the sector.
Zoe Smith, co-Chair of the Optical Confederation IT Committee added: ‘We have had two years of broken promises, botched systems and missed deadlines from PCSE all of which have had a huge impact on our members.
‘The latest news that CET payments may not now be processed until the New Year is yet another blow and the Optical Confederation is urgently seeking assurances that this unacceptable situation is resolved with utmost haste.’
PCSE failed to respond to Optician’s request for comment.