As sure as night follows day, the Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) has had another bid for increased GOS remuneration for fees and grants dismissed, seemingly out of hand, by NHS England (NHSE).
Increases in the cost of energy and spiralling inflation rates had put extra emphasis on the OFNC’s negotiations with NHSE, but they are acute issues. Chronic GOS underfunding is at the root of the problem, along with the government’s apparent disdain for any sectors that have had the temerity to ask for better pay.
Like nursing unions’ proposal for the percentage at which salaries should rise, the OFNC requested a 17% uplift in the mandatory GOS fees to £25.90; a very reasonable figure given the organisation had presented data to NHSE that the average cost of providing an NHS sight test was between £43 and £49. Not reasonable enough, though.
One thing in particular stood out from the OFNC’s response to the decision; that it would now be issuing advice to providers that had asked for help on ‘how to manage NHS capacity in light of rising costs and underfunding of the sight test.’
We’ve already seen hundreds of practices pull the private-only ejector seat but to me, this seemed like even the staunchest NHS care providers are looking to limit their losses. Maybe, NHSE needs the wake-up call that limited care provision would bring and when ophthalmology backlogs aren’t being cleared, that’s when the penny will drop.
The OFNC seems confident that it has put forward the message to ministers about the role NHS primary eye care can play in tandem with the NHS, but that isn’t being reflected in the results of dialogue. The disparity between bidding for a 17% rise in fees and having a 4.5% increase imposed upon you, should really serve as the best bellwether of what the government and NHSE really thinks about optometry.