A proposal has been submitted by the Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee for increased GOS and optical voucher fees.
Its bid letter to NHS England called for the £20.90 sight test fee to be increased 2.5 per cent and optical voucher values to rise 3.5 per cent.
‘The pressures on community optical practices are broadly the same as those on community dental and GP practices, particularly in respect of staff, consumables, premises – market rents have increased significantly – and fuel,’ the letter set out. ‘Like those professions, we seek an overall increase of 2.5 per cent in sight test fees and related payments, bearing in mind that the Consumer Prices Index was running at 2.75 per cent annually in the year to September 2013 and the Retail Prices Index at 3.2 per cent for the same period and in order to halt the haemorrhaging of community optical practices and to ensure that essential small practices are maintained.’