26 May 2023

FODO member update - 26 May

This week:

• Vouchers at a glance Scotland
• PCSE service issues
• GOC reviews business registrants
• Patient choice can help reduce waiting times
• The health service @75
• Wales primary care workforce plan
• Other sector news
• Tech news
• Policy updates

Vouchers at a glance Scotland

As set out in our April update, new voucher values come into force 1 June 2023. You can now access new vouchers at a glance Scotland. 

PCSE service issues

As members in England know, PCSE online and eGOS continue to experience serious performance issues following recent upgrades. Read the latest PCSE update, which also includes a contact email address for further questions.
 
As ever, FODO members can also continue to contact us at [email protected]. 

GOC reviews business registrants

The GOC is planning to review business registrants' information at Companies House to check they still meet the criteria for GOC business registration.
 
Where it appears that a company no longer meets the requirement, the GOC will email the business and allow them 10 working days to update their structure in order to remain registered.
 
If you have any questions about your business registration or receive an email from the GOC challenging your status, please contact us at [email protected] for further support.

Patient choice can help reduce waiting times

The NHS in England has launched a new app to support patient choice, with the government reporting that "research shows giving patients choice can cut up to three months off their waiting time". A new app will aim to improve uptake of patient choice, as currently just 10% of eligible patients exercise this fundamental right in the NHS Constitution. Read more.
 
David Hewlett, FODO Director, said: "Principles and priorities for primary care sets out the importance of protecting and promoting patient choice, which is key to driving service improvements.
 
"Yet, as the data again shows, NHS systems are still taking too long to systematise patient choice in the NHS culture. We hope this new initiative will help drive this beneficial shift across all NHS elective services."

The health service @75

The UK's health services will mark their 75^th anniversary on 5 July 2023.

• NHS England shares how to get involved here.
• NHS Scotland shares how to get involved here.
• NHS Wales shares how to get involved here.
• Northern Ireland sets out how it will celebrate 75 years of the health service here.

Wales primary care workforce plan

Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) is working with Strategic Programme for Primary Care (SPPC) to develop a Strategic Workforce Plan for Primary Care in Wales. To help this process they would be grateful if primary eye care teams would  consider completing this short survey. 

Other sector news

• GOC looks to appoint 10 new members to its Hearings Panel. Learn more and apply.
• People with sight loss confused by "disjointed" system say researchers at Anglia Ruskin University .
• Sector research funds patients likely to delay necessary eye care as a result of cost-of-living pressures.
• The UK Ophthalmology Alliance reports that the Royal College of Ophthalmologists has launched a new form of membership open to non-ophthalmologist members of the eye care team, including optometrists. 

Tech news

• AI used to advance drug delivery system for glaucoma and other chronic diseases. Read more.
• NIH in the USA reports on saving premature babies' vision with a smartphone camera and artificial intelligence. Learn more.
• Fight for Sight awards £1.2m funding to ground-breaking research projects into sight loss. 

Policy updates

• ONS reports UK inflation has fallen to 8.7%, mainly as a result of the drop in energy prices.
• In a Parliamentary Question Jim Shannon MP has asked the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care if his department would "support pilots of cataract and glaucoma joint procedures in independent sector treatment centre settings".
• Minister Will Quince MP replied "Independent sector providers have a significant role to play in supporting the National Health Service as trusted partners to recover elective services. Use of the independent sector will support our efforts to tackle the backlog and deliver value for money." Read more.
• Keir Starmer has shared Labour's vision for the NHS, stating its mission is to "create an NHS fit for the future". He said a future Labour government would want an "NHS where prevention comes first, where care is closer to home, where patients have more control". Read more
• The Professional Services Authority (PSA) has set out is goals for the next three years. Read more. The PSA has also published its response to the government consultation on the draft GMC Anaesthesia Associates and Physician Associates Order. Read the response.