OFNC statement on COVID 19 urgent eyecare service (CUES)

The OFNC welcomes the publication of the COVID-19 Urgent Eyecare Service (CUES) to provide urgent and emergency services in primary care settings during the pandemic. The new service framework will be particularly helpful in those areas of England where there are currently no locally commissioned urgent eyecare services in primary care. It must be commissioned rapidly in those areas, so that patients with urgent eyecare needs can receive care without having to visit a GP or hospital. 

The OFNC has today issued an updated set of FAQs on primary eyecare services during the COVID-19 crisis, including information on the key features of CUES. Contractors and practitioners should direct further questions to their representative bodies, using the contact details in the FAQs.

The Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee

The Optical Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) is the national negotiating body for eye care in the UK and England with the Westminster Parliament, the Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England-NHS Improvement.   It comprises the leaders of the UK representative bodies: ABDO, AOP, FODO and BMA (for OMPs) and works in partnerships with the College of Optometrists and the General Optical Council.