Specialist supplementary exam to be introduced under GOS in Scotland from August

The Scottish Government has confirmed the establishment of a new specialist supplementary examination for independent prescribing (IP) optometrists from August this year.

Detailed in the Scottish NHS Operation Improvement Plan, which was published by the Scottish Government in March, the plan states that the new acute anterior eye condition service will enable the care of complex acute anterior eye conditions to be delivered by approved IP optometrists as part of General Ophthalmic Services (GOS).

It details that patients with any one of 10 acute anterior eye conditions, such as anterior uveitis, will be seen and treated nearer to where they live. The conditions include: anterior uveitis, herpes simplex keratitis, marginal keratitis, blepharitis and ocular rosacea, ocular allergy episcleritis, infective conjunctivitis, corneal foreign body removal and herpes zoster ophthalmicus.

An enhanced fee will be effective from August, and all exams undertaken within GOS specialist supplementary (SS) will be paid at the new rate.

The plan details that the service will be fully operational in “most” health boards by the end of March 2026, providing “the opportunity to free up around 40,000 hospital appointments per year.”

“The increased capacity within our hospital eye services will allow people waiting for care to be seen more quickly,” it added.

Confirming the new service, the Scottish Government stated it would build on the success of the community glaucoma service already being delivered.

A section in the Scottish NHS Operation Improvement Plan that focuses on primary care optometry, notes: “We are committed to move optometry services into the community, bringing eye care closer to patients’ homes and away from centralised hospital settings.”

Optometry Scotland has welcomed the service, stating that the initiative will “empower IP optometrists to take on an expanded clinical role, reducing demand on NHS hospital eye services and general practice across Scotland.”

The organisation explained: “It will enable a greater number of complex anterior eye conditions to be solely managed within community optometry settings, reducing the need for onward referral into hospital eye services and alleviating pressure on general practice.”

Optometry Scotland highlighted that the service is structured to allow intra-referral between optometrists, enabling non-IP optometrists to refer patients to IP colleagues within the community.

Welcoming the service, chair of Optometry Scotland, Eilidh Thomson, explained: “Building on the success of an intra-referral pilot during the COVID-19 pandemic where community optometrists effectively shared the management of anterior eye conditions, GOS SS recognises the crucial role of IP optometrists in handling a wider range of complex cases.”

She added: “The new scheme will also give community optometrists the opportunity to utilise their IP training to the fullest degree. Furthermore, GOS SS will improve accessibility, particularly for patients in remote and rural areas, ensuring they receive timely, expert-led eye care closer to home.”

Thomson highlighted: “By reducing unnecessary hospital referrals and keeping more patients within the community, GOS SS supports NHS Scotland’s strategy to shift the balance of care, ensuring timely, accessible and expert-led eye care for all.”