How do you shape up in the GOS figures?

As the fight for the future of the GOS continues in Parliament, a snapshot of the sheer scale of what is at risk has been published by the Department of Health.

With many MPs won over to the profession's argument, the fear remains that if government proposals get the go-ahead individual PCTs in England would be allowed to restrict the number of optical practices giving NHS sight tests, potentially 'cherrypicking' the most financially favourable outlets.

In the latest set of ophthalmic statistics, published under the General Ophthalmic Services heading, 3.6m vouchers were reimbursed for spectacles by PCTs in England during 2004-05, a rise of 3 per cent on the previous year.

English PCTs paid for 10.1m NHS sight test, again a 3 per cent rise on last time, with 42 per cent of these sight tests performed on patients aged 60 or over, and 22 per cent on children.

Provisional data suggests 340m was spent in total on GOS in England - a 4 per cent increase.

Currently there are around 8,500 optometrists and ophthalmic medical practitioners under contract to perform NHS tests in England, marginally up from the previously released yearly figure, and at December 31 2004 there were 6,207 outlets contracted to PCTs.

The intricate details of the document show that Birmingham and the Black Country strategic health authority achieved the most number of sight tests per 10,000 population, whereas North West London SHA, and South West London SHA have recorded the lowest.

When it comes to practitioner numbers, North Central London SHA is the best manned with almost four practitioners for every 10,000 people in its area, whereas Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire SHA area is the most sparsely populated, with its 371 professionals averaging 1.66 practitioners per 10,000 population.

Delving further into the Department of Health document reveals that North Peterborough PCT's 34 practitioners appear to be the hardest working, delivering 1,235 NHS sight tests per practitioner in 2004-05, with the 74 professionals within Fylde PCT giving the least, at 183 NHS sight tests per practitioner.

Elsewhere Doncaster Central PCT emerges as the most prolific when it comes to carrying out sight tests - 5,235 per 10,000 population - while Broadland PCT in Norfolk carried out the least examinations, with 328 test per 10,000 population.

In total the DoH report that in England, Wales and Scotland 11.74m people had NHS sight tests in 2004-2005, a rise of nearly 3 per cent, and vouchers for 4.33m were reimbursed by the three countries, a rise of 2.6 per cent.

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