Concerns raised about the revised proposal to the Special Schools Eyecare Service fee to NHS England have not been heeded, according to Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC).
The body said the newly proposed fee was insufficient to provide the unique, ongoing care that was required and, instead, would only allow for a simple examination.
‘We fear this will mean that either a huge unfunded burden will be placed on those delivering the service, making it unsustainable, or the service as delivered will not match that which was intended and evaluated during the proof of concept. We urge NHS England to reconsider the fee for this important service as a matter of urgency,’ the OFNC stated.
The OFNC was told that NHS England considered the service to be similar to the domiciliary sight testing service. While the OFNC agreed there were parallels in the use of mobile equipment, working environment and ways of working, there were also important differences.
It said, at inception, the service was meant to provide ongoing care for a cohort of patient with unique challenges.
Additionally, it was recognised that to provide best possible level of care, things needed to done differently to a standard sight test, such as multiple visits to enable successful examination.
