Leaders of the profession in Scotland have acclaimed the new NHS optometry contract, which was revealed in the Scottish Parliament this week.
Significant fee increases (see box below) have been achieved for practitioners north of the border, and a £8,000 equipment grant has also been made available, aimed particularly to help practitioners based in rural and marginal urban areas.
Celebrating the new deal, Optometry Scotland - the representative body for Scottish optometrists and dispensing opticians - called it ‘the most significant change in legislation concerning the provision of eye care in Scotland in the last 60 years’, setting out measures to place optometry firmly within the NHS as the ‘principal provider of eye care’.
Key benefits have been negotiated by Optometry Scotland in the Smoking, Health & Social Care (Scotland) Act, and the new arrangement was announced by deputy health minister Lewis Macdonald MSP (right).
He said the new eye care delivery plans fulfilled the Scottish Executive’s pledge to introduce ‘free eye checks for all by 2007’. For practitioners not only is there the chance to receive improved funding, but greater opportunities to get involved in co-managed care with hospital-based ophthalmologists.
The new fees will start from April 2006, with increases already planned for the following year, and, after the one-off equipment grant, the annual review will take ‘account of any technological advances ’.
| Fee increases |
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From implementation: After one year: Primary examination £36.00 Supplementary examination £21.00 Note: In addition the SEHD will provide training and accreditation for Volk biomicroscopy, applanation tonometry and visual field examining |
‘A few years ago this achievement would have been unthinkable,’ said Hal Rollason, chairman of Optometry Scotland, ‘but close cooperation between all the optical bodies in Scotland and a tireless and enthusiastic OS team have made the dream a reality.
‘When the new contract comes into operation it is then up to the profession to respond by acting both professionally and ethically, raising the standard of what we do, providing a more comprehensive service, to match the significant fee increase commitment from the Scottish Executive Health Department and the NHS.’
He said the SEHD had recognised the commitment of optometrists to the NHS, and addressed the issue of ‘low NHS fees for the increasingly sophisticated service that optometry provides’.
Rollason commented: ‘This is a good deal for the patient, the NHS and for hospital waiting times. I also hope that when optometrists sign up to the new contract, they will also sign up to a 1 per cent levy to help us continue with our work.’
Bob Hughes, AOP chief executive, called the contract a remarkable new deal for patients in Scotland, and a major advance for the profession.
‘At long last Scottish optometrists will be enabled to deliver the range of eye care that they are equipped to deliver,’ he said.
‘With proven eye care initiatives in Wales and this far-sighted scheme in Scotland, we now have to work to bring these benefits to England and Northern Ireland.
‘We have consistently argued for the profession to be freed up to deliver a comprehensive service. Wales and now Scotland have done so. While any English or Northern Irish scheme will be different, change is now needed urgently.’