20 March 2025
Contractors should expect a delay in the confirmation of the General Ophthalmic Services (GOS) fee for 2025–2026, the Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) has warned.
The OFNC also advised that the NHS is only likely to uplift the GOS fee in line with inflation ahead of the coming financial year.
The committee said that it has been “pressing the NHS England team for some time” over a confirmation of the fee uplift, but noted that a response has not yet been received.
Staffing issues at NHS England and the recent news that the organisation will be merged into the Department of Health and Social Care has likely led to the delay, the OFNC said.
The OFNC highlighted that its recent work has included submitting evidence about the need for GOS fee increases to the healthcare budget process in 2024, and providing additional input into the second phase of the government spending review.
Pressures faced by the eye care sector and “a growing feeling of anger amongst GOS contractors about the previous imposition of unfair and unacceptable fee increases” were highlighted in a letter to senior officials at NHS England in early February, the OFNC said.
The letter also emphasised the need for a meeting in order to “agree a constructive way forward for fee restoration and to deliver the government’s objectives for the NHS in 2025–2026.”
A response to the above request was received on 19 March, acknowledging that the OFNC has “historically undertaken a comprehensive exercise to present evidence to NHS England and DHSC.”
The response stated that the NHS will be setting out a new way of handling fees and grants, working within a budget that has been predetermined by NHS England.
A period of ‘engagement’ will take place from 26 March and any fee increase will be backdated to 1 April, the letter said.
Paul Carroll, chair of the OFNC, said: “NHS England has finally acknowledged that the OFNC has always submitted comprehensive evidence as part of annual fee negotiations, which confirms it is fully aware that contractors are not funded fairly to deliver a GOS sight test.”
However, Carroll noted that “the NHS in England is now proposing it will now more openly turn its back on settlements based on evidence and instead force primary eye care providers to offer NHS eye care at well below costs.
"We will be making clear that we cannot help NHS England impose unfair cuts on the profession, [as] contractors deserve fair remuneration for the clinical care they deliver.”
The OFNC also reminded contractors that NHS optical vouchers are determined via a separate process.
The current interest rate of 4.5% will be held, it was announced by the Bank of England today (20 March). The new financial year will begin on 6 April.
Comments (3)
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hilaryandmichael24 March 2025
inferring that our sight test will be cut no doubt-but don't worry-there is a dark force behind all this ready and prepared with a sharply ground knife with designs to cut independent optometrists throats in order to take the NHS fee for itself in connivance with the goverment-just wait and see
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Anonymous20 March 2025
As ever Optometry the poor relation in health care, the question must be asked, are our governing and representative bodies really doing enough in the profession's interests compared with for instance the Dental profession ? And is governing policy being modeled by the interests of a handful of multiple groups ? I comment as an independent small optometry business owner now struggling to stay in business in an increasingly difficult and inflationary financial climate.
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Anonymous27 March 2025
I sent an email to the AOP a week ago when they asked us to get in touch if we had any questions re the GOS fee saying very much what is written in this comment and they haven’t even bothered to reply.
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