Verum writes: Poverty’s powerful impact on eye health

It is rare to read a copy of any optical magazine, without seeing a reference to the inadequate level of the General Ophthalmic Services NHS sight test fee, on at least one page. The fee simply does not remunerate sufficiently for the cost of providing a sight test, and so we rely on the sight test being accompanied by the sale of spectacles, which is where an optical practice will make some money.

The economic model means that a private spectacle sale is essential for the practice to be in profit. However, patients may be entitled to NHS spectacle vouchers due to low income and if this plus the sight test fee constituted all or most of a practice’s income then we are all aware that the practice would be hard pushed to be economically viable. The main complaint then about the NHS fees is that they force practices into the position where the private sales subsidise NHS fees, which seems a little unfair on the private patient spectacle wearing population.