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How do you shape up in the GOS stats?

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Provisional data suggests £340m was spent in total on GOS in England during 2004-2005– a four per cent rise.

Provisional data suggests £340m was spent in total on GOS in England during 2004-2005– a four per cent rise.

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

The intricate details 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 has almost four practitioners for every 10,000 people in its area, whereas Norfolk, Suffolk & Cambridgeshire SHA area is the least manned, 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 sight tests per practitioner in 2004-05, with the 74 professionals within Fylde PCT giving the least at 183 sight tests per practitioner (see table below for your area).

Elsewhere Doncaster Central PCT appear to be the most prolific when it comes to carrying out sight tests -   5,235 per 10,000 population – while Broadland PCT in Norfolk is the least, 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 three per cent, and vouchers for 4.33m were reimbursed by the three countries, a rise of 2.6 per cent.
 
Number of NHS sight tests paid for per practitioner in 2004-05 by Primary Care Trust (PCT) and Strategic Health Authority (SHA)

England  1,198
 
County Durham and Tees Valley SHA 1,048
Darlington  419
Derwentside  293
Durham and Chester-le-Street  337
Durham Dales  347
Easington  285
Hartlepool  893
Langbaurgh  881
Middlesbrough  793
North Tees  900
Sedgefield  244
 
Northumberland, Tyne & Wear SHA 1,089
Gateshead  441
Newcastle  536
North Tyneside  495
Northumberland Care Trust 785
South Tyneside  460
Sunderland Teaching  693
 
Cheshire & Merseyside SHA 866
Bebington and West Wirral  439
Birkenhead and Wallasey  660
Central Cheshire  538
Central Liverpool  531
Cheshire West  536
Eastern Cheshire  668
Ellesmere Port and Neston  526
Halton  605
Knowsley  416
North Liverpool  488
South Liverpool  309
South Sefton  569
Southport and Formby  448
St Helens  488
Warrington  469
 
Cumbria and Lancashire SHA 758
Blackburn with Darwen  311
Blackpool  318
Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale  348
Carlisle and District  654
Chorley and South Ribble  280
Eden Valley  692
Fylde  183
Hyndburn and Ribble Valley  291
Morecambe Bay  492
Preston  274
West Cumbria  1,219
West Lancashire  197
Wyre  342
 
Greater Manchester SHA 792
Ashton, Leigh and Wigan  396
Bolton  346
Bury  296
Central Manchester  558
Heywood and Middleton  416
North Manchester  480
Oldham  520
Rochdale  679
Salford  318
South Manchester  381
Stockport  394
Tameside and Glossop  576
Trafford North  535
Trafford South  775
 
North & East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire SHA 819
Craven, Harrogate and Rural District  552
East Yorkshire  580
Eastern Hull  643
Hambleton and Richmondshire  506
North East Lincolnshire  536
North Lincolnshire  442
Scarborough, Whitby and Ryedale  780
Selby and York  438
West Hull  668
Yorkshire Wolds and Coast  500
 
South Yorkshire SHA 786
Barnsley 332
Doncaster Central 506
Doncaster East 240
Doncaster West 356
North Sheffield 385
Rotherham 367
Sheffield South West 350
Sheffield West 476
South East Sheffield 517
 
West Yorkshire SHA 1,004
Airedale  541
Bradford City  564
Bradford South and West  474
Calderdale  587
East Leeds  469
Eastern Wakefield  593
Huddersfield Central  586
Leeds North East  288
Leeds North West  492
Leeds West  266
North Bradford  351
North Kirklees  563
South Huddersfield  283
South Leeds  316
Wakefield West  485
 
Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland SHA 661
Charnwood and North West Leicestershire  410
Daventry and South Northamptonshire  473
Eastern Leicester  534
Hinckley and Bosworth  464
Leicester City West  411
Melton, Rutland and Harborough  926
Northampton  259
Northamptonshire Heartlands  529
South Leicestershire  513
  
Trent SHA 900
Amber Valley  727
Ashfield  557
Bassetlaw  916
Broxtowe and Hucknall  224
Central Derby  792
Chesterfield  501
Derbyshire Dales and South Derbyshire  838
East Lincolnshire  915
Erewash  998
Gedling  267
Greater Derby  291
High Peak and Dales  722
Lincolnshire South West Teaching  593
Mansfield District  747
Newark and Sherwood  762
North Eastern Derbyshire  920
Nottingham City  318
Rushcliffe  221
West Lincolnshire  710
 
Birmingham and The Black Country SHA 1,034
Dudley Beacon and Castle  277
Dudley South  340
Eastern Birmingham  634
Heart of Birmingham Teaching  576
North Birmingham  597
Oldbury and Smethwick  201
Rowley Regis and Tipton  257
Solihull  550
South Birmingham  753
Walsall  793
Wednesbury and West Bromwich  309
Wolverhampton City  466
 
West Midlands South SHA 857
Coventry  712
Herefordshire  526
North Warwickshire  746
Redditch and Bromsgrove  464
Rugby  670
South Warwickshire  764
South Worcestershire  606
Wyre Forest  365
 
Shropshire and Staffordshire SHA 802
Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth  704
Cannock Chase  533
East Staffordshire  836
Newcastle-under-Lyme  369
North Stoke  440
Shropshire County  522
South Stoke  277
South Western Staffordshire  559
Staffordshire Moorlands  299
Telford and Wrekin  590
 
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire SHA 692
Bedford  1,133
Bedfordshire Heartlands  854
Dacorum  392
Hertsmere  320
Luton  1,208
North Hertfordshire and Stevenage  582
Royston, Buntingford and Bishop's Stortford  395
South East Hertfordshire  268
St Albans and Harpenden  289
Watford and Three Rivers  375
Welwyn Hatfield  324

Essex SHA 1,113
Basildon  878
Billericay, Brentwood and Wickford  847
Castle Point and Rochford  821
Chelmsford  950
Colchester  808
Epping Forest  629
Harlow  1,102
Maldon and South Chelmsford  855
Southend on Sea  756
Tendring  900
Thurrock  866
Uttlesford  492
Witham, Halstead & Halstead  847
 
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire SHA 1,284
Broadland  437
Cambridge City  807
Central Suffolk  751
East Cambridgeshire and Fenland  1,029
Great Yarmouth  673
Huntingdonshire  830
Ipswich  878
North Norfolk  672
North Peterborough  1,235
Norwich  810
South Cambridgeshire  382
South Peterborough  386
Southern Norfolk  314
Suffolk Coastal  886
Suffolk West  900
Waveney  1,170
West Norfolk  1,102
 
North Central London SHA 440
Barnet  380
Camden  239
Enfield  365
Haringey  796
Islington  245

North East London SHA 521
Barking and Dagenham  495
City and Hackney  404
Havering  888
Newham  607
Redbridge 214
Tower Hamlets  428
Waltham Forest  279
 
North West London SHA 549
Brent  449
Ealing  448
Hammersmith and Fulham  245
Harrow  435
Hillingdon  441
Hounslow  422
Kensington and Chelsea  292
Westminster  277
 
South West London SHA 734
Croydon  649
Kingston  564
Richmond and Twickenham  370
Sutton and Merton  534
Wandsworth  721
 
South East London SHA 576
Bexley 629
Bromley 480
Greenwich 725
Lambeth 327
Lewisham 263
Southwark 235
 
Hampshire and Isle of Wight SHA 902
Blackwater Valley and Hart  643
East Hampshire  739
Eastleigh and Test Valley South  525
Fareham and Gosport  549
Isle of Wight  1,025
Mid-Hampshire  370
New Forest  538
North Hampshire  482
Portsmouth City  397
Southampton City  601
 
Kent and Medway SHA 1,024
Ashford  475
Canterbury and Coastal  559
Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley  537
East Kent Coastal  655
Maidstone Weald  431
Medway  501
Shepway  350
South West Kent  500
Swale  335
 
Surrey and Sussex SHA 1,109
Adur, Arun and Worthing  662
Bexhill and Rother  712
Brighton and Hove City  688
Crawley  467
East Elmbridge and Mid Surrey  795
East Surrey  642
Eastbourne Downs  998
Guildford and Waverley  1,124
Hastings and St Leonards  799
Horsham and Chanctonbury  465
Mid-Sussex  416
North Surrey  1,153
Sussex Downs and Weald  915
Western Sussex  573
Woking  1,169

Thames Valley SHA 670
Bracknell Forest  549
Cherwell Vale  738
Chiltern and South Bucks  348
Milton Keynes  309
Newbury and Community  513
North East Oxfordshire  533
Oxford City  585
Reading  677
Slough  481
South East Oxfordshire  332
South West Oxfordshire  683
Vale of Aylesbury  308
Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead  322
Wokingham  1,151
Wycombe  227
 
Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire SHA 806
Bath and North East Somerset  431
Bristol North  409
Bristol South and West  416
Cheltenham and Tewkesbury  359
Cotswold and Vale  540
Kennet and North Wiltshire  639
North Somerset  536
South Gloucestershire  530
South Wiltshire  774
Swindon  416
West Gloucestershire  875
West Wiltshire  707

Dorset and Somerset SHA 868
Bournemouth  417
Mendip  450
North Dorset  302
Poole  348
Somerset Coast  500
South and East Dorset  454
South Somerset  466
South West Dorset  561
Taunton Deane  416
 
South West Peninsula SHA 1,189
Central Cornwall  808
East Devon  514
Exeter  532
Mid Devon  344
North and East Cornwall  552
North Devon  651
Plymouth  742
South Hams and West Devon  650
Teignbridge  696
Torbay  661
West of Cornwall  794

Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre

Note:  Some practitioners hold contracts with more than one PCT, and hold contracts with more than one SHA - and so are included in the calculations for more than one PCT, and more than one SHA. The England figure counts each practitioner once only.