Verum writes: Budget holds out very little hope for primary care

My memory of budgets is that the key announcements of interest to the majority of the general public, and which attracted media headlines, were the price of cigarettes, alcohol and petrol. Now the headlines from Phillip Hammond’s first autumn budget are all about Brexit, the price of housing and the NHS, all reflecting general uncertainty regarding the perilous state of the country’s long term economic future.

Whatever is said about funding for the NHS, it should be of interest to the optical industry, as we are a direct beneficiary through eye examination and dispensing fees. However, it goes without saying that the budget had no mention of primary care, other than general practice. As I have said before, optical practice, and to a lesser extent the other primary care disciplines are lower in NHS priorities than the lowest rung on the NHS ladder.