General Ophthalmic Services

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General Ophthalmic Services

• John Flory
• Senior Manager (Governance)
• East Sussex, Brighton and Hove
• Primary Care Support Services

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East Sussex, Brighton and Hove PCSS

• Bexhill Rother PCT
• Brighton and Hove City Teaching PCT
• Eastbourne Downs PCT
• Hastings St Leonards PCT
• Sussex Downs and Weald PCT
• Also certain pharmaceutical services for
• Adur, Arun Worhting PCT
• Crawley PCT
• Horsham Chanctonbury PCT
• Western Sussex

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General Ophthalmic Services

• The National Health Service (General Ophthalmic
  Services Supplementary List) and (General
  Ophthalmic Services Amendment and Consequential
  Amendment) Regulations 2005
• The New Regs!

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The New Way Forward

• Ophthalmic List for Contractors
• Supplementary Lists for everyone else

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Ophthalmic List

• Definition of Contractors
• Sole Trader - (Must be an Optometrist)
• Partnership - (More than one partner is an
  Optometrist all contractors any partners who
  are not optometrists will not be contractors)
• Body Corporate - (Corporate Optician registered
  with the GOC)
• Note A contractor cannot be on a supplementary
  List and vice versa

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Responsibilities of Contractor

• Premises
• Equipment
• Procedures
• Record Keeping

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Further Responsibility

• It is the Contractor who must ensure that when he
  employs someone to carry out eye tests the person
  is competent to carry out such a test and is
  either
• included on a list of contractors of a PCT
  somewhere in England
• or
• included in the supplementary list of a PCT in
  England

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Supplementary List

• An optometrist can only be included in one
  supplementary list in England (Similar to GPs and
  Dentists)
• Who would normally be included on a supplementary
  list
• Someone who is employed by a contractor to
  perform the clinical tasks involved in GOS

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Supplementary List

• This means
• Employees
• Locums
• Ophthalmic Body Corporate Directors
• The Body Corporate itself is the contractor

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Applications to join Lists

• Ophthalmic List (Contractors)
• Full Name
• Sex (not COs)
• Date of Birth (no COs)
• Private Address (COs give registered company
  address)
• Date of registration (section 7 or section 9)
  plus Reg No
• VT No (if applicable)
• Address of Premises (Mobile - correspondence
  address)
• Opening hours, appointments system,mobile
  regular places and times

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Application to join Lists continued

• Intention to practice as sole trader, partner etc
• (Note if a partnership names and addresses of
  all partners, identifying who is included in the
  PCTs Ophthalmic List
• Who he intends to employ - this is ongoing (Para
  8 Terms of Service1986 Regs
• Professional Experience
• Professional Indemnity
• Two referees
• Undertake to undergo an enhanced CRB check when
  requested by the PCT
• Other undertakings in line with Dental and
  Medical Regs

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Application to join listsContinued

• Supplementary
• Full Name
• Sex
• Date of Birth
• Private address and Telephone Number
• Qualifications and where obtained
• Date included in the GOC Register and Reg No
• Details of professional experience
• Two referees
• Undertake to undergo an enhanced CRB check when
  requested by the PCT
• Usual Declarations

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Practices not owned by Optometrists or Ophthalmic
Body Corporates

• Dispensing Opticians
• Lay people
• Non-enrolled companies
• Cannot carry out eye tests unless
• If possible they become corporate opticians
  (preferred option)
• Enter into a legally enforceable agreement with
  an optometrist/OMP

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OMPs ( some Optometrists)

• Normally contractors working at a practice and
  using the practices equipment
• Advise them to enter into a legally enforceable
  agreement with organisation which covers
• Premises
• Equipment
• Procedures
• Record Keeping

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Newly Qualified Optometrists

• New Regs allow students to apply to a PCT for
  inclusion in its Supplementary List 3 months
  before they are expected to qualify
• Application can be processed as far as possible
  to avoid delays when they qualify
• When student qualifies and PCT is satisfied that
  he is registered with GOC he can practice
• If optometrist does not qualify null void

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Workforce

• Contractors are required to contact the PCT with
  details of an optometrist they regularly employ
  (Not Locums)
• Para 8(4) Terms of Service 1986 Regs

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Mobile Contractors

• Regulation 41
• Requires mobile only practices and those
  practices who provide a domicilliary service to
  register with the PCT where they have have
  patients

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New GOS 1 Forms

• These forms are to have two signatories
• The signature of the optometrist who carried out
  the eye test
• The signature of the contractor or his
  representative
• This signature does not have to be by a
  registered optometrist but good practice would
  suggest a list of counter signatories be supplied
  to the PCT and regularly updated by the contractor

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What Next

• PCTs should write to Optometrists
• copies of the letter used by East Sussex are
  available
• Prepare new application forms
• Drafts are available