Our friends in other countries often look north with envious eyes at the system we have in place in Scotland. We are very proud of the world class eye care service we offer through our optometrists and dispensing opticians in our community practices.
The service we offer enables patients to be treated in a community setting significantly reducing the burden on secondary care. The ability to see patients for supplementary examinations to review conditions is an important part of the service however such appointments can upset the commercial balance of our practices.
Recently we have seen the introduction of electronic claiming for GOS fees which has been very successful. Those practices who are using the system received a grant that Optometry Scotland negotiated with the Scottish Government to help implement the system and we have also negotiated with Primary Services Division for further improvements to the way the system runs.
Currently Optometry Scotland is negotiating with the Scottish Government to improve the General Ophthalmic Services regulations, making them more fit for purpose for clinicians, and also there are ongoing negotiations regarding fees and the fee structure.
This is done with an aim to increase the fees paid for some of the more complex supplementary appointments that take up more chair time.
Our members can be rest assured that we are committed to work on their behalf to advance our world class eye care, listen to their opinions, and to continue to work closely with the Scottish Government and Primary Services Division.