27 March 2026

FODO member update – 27 March

This week:

• Bank holiday opening hours
• World Optometry Week
• GOC seeks views on workplace satisfaction
• The latest NHS framework
• NHS cuts ophthalmology cataract tariffs
• Consultation on reforming GMC legislation
• Ophthalmologist Power List
• At a glance
• Health policy news

Bank holiday opening hours

The FODO office will be closed on 3 April and 6 April. We will reopen at 9am on 7 April. Members can still access out-of-hours support for urgent matters on Friday and Monday by emailing [email protected].

The next scheduled member update will be on 10 April, unless any urgent updates are necessary. 

World Optometry Week

This year's World Optometry Week, themed 'A Shared Vision: Collaboration in Global Eye Care', celebrated optometrists' vital contribution to eye health.

Cindy Tromans, president of the World Council of Optometry, told Vision Monday: "Collaboration is fundamental to the future of eyecare. Optometrists are important primary vision and eye health providers, and our greatest impact comes when we work with others across the health system. This theme reflects both the reality of modern eyecare and our shared responsibility to ensure no one is left behind. 

GOC seeks views on workplace satisfaction

The GOC has launched its annual Workplace and Perceptions Survey, seeking practitioners' views on job satisfaction and working conditions.
 
This year's survey includes new questions about driving vision standards in response to the government's proposal to change sight-test requirements for people over 70, and on AI's impact on the profession.
 
FODO members might wish to promote the survey to all GOC registered employees to help the GOC get a representative sample this year. 

The latest NHS framework

After many failed attempts to shift care from hospitals to the community, the NHS in England hopes its new Neighbourhood health framework will finally help deliver the 'left shift'.

In this latest NHS framework, the government recognises people still want consistent and quality care close to home, but the NHS remains hospital-centric and services "fall short of what the NHS could and should be delivering". It also acknowledges that over the last 10 years there has been "significantly greater spend and investment in hospitals rather than in primary and community care".

Although the 10 Year Health Plan also recognised that an overly hospital-focused NHS challenges NHS sustainability, the government still plans on giving eligible NHS hospitals more power by letting them take on ICB responsibilities and run Integrated Health Organisations. Policymakers hope this will create better and aligned incentives across the system.

A FODO spokesperson said: "While the framework has the right goals, primary care will ask whether some initiatives will help or hinder the left shift. It is reassuring, however, that the government states that primary care contracts, including GOS, 'will continue to be commissioned in accordance with national contracts', reconfirming commitments made to the sector. The framework also repeats commitments to putting patients at the heart of the NHS and focusing on prevention."

FODO members who would like to learn more can email [email protected]. 

NHS cuts ophthalmology cataract tariffs

The 2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme confirms that NHS England will proceed to cut the main cataract tariff by 20% as planned. The money released from the price cut will fund ophthalmology services that are more likely to be delivered by NHS hospitals. The NHS pricing team has not published any details showing that these price changes are based on a detailed costing exercise.

NHS England said independent sector providers were concerned about the proposals. However, it decided to continue with its original plan to cut the cataract tariff and increase payment for ophthalmology services with longer waiting lists, and that the proposals were supported by ICBs and NHS providers.

Harjit Sandhu, FODO CEO said: "It was clear that the NHS policy goal was to reduce independent sector ophthalmology cataract capacity. However, using the pricing mechanism in this way is fraught with challenges and patients could lose out. In our response to the consultation, we called for the NHS to follow its pricing principles, review NICE guidelines for cataract surgery and avoid non-evidenced-based value judgements.

"The NHS pricing team has instead opted to implement various workarounds, using the pricing mechanism as a blunt policy tool in the hope it will reduce ophthalmology waiting lists. If this gamble fails, and it most likely will since it does not address the cause of the hospital eye service capacity crisis, then patients will continue to suffer avoidable sight loss due to delays in care. Moreover, the NHS medical malpractice bill will continue to increase."

All other 2026/27 national tariff prices will fall in real terms - with a 2.03% cost uplift factor (CUF) offset by a 2% efficiency factor. NHS England has confirmed CUF will be reviewed after pay awards are agreed and payments backdated to 1 April 2026, but because of how pay is weighted in CUF and considering forecast inflation, the average price paid per episode of care will fall in real terms. Additionally, many providers face imposed activity restrictions while being expected to meet the government's goal of cutting waiting lists.

FODO members who would like to learn more can email [email protected]. 

Consultation on reforming GMC legislation

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has launched a consultation on reforming the General Medical Council (GMC) legislative framework. 
 
Michael Guthrie, director of policy and regulation said: "This is the start of long-awaited reform of the legislation of the professional regulators, with the intention to modernise legislation so that the regulatory system is more responsive, flexible and resilient."

FODO will respond to the consultation as this legislation is likely to establish the overall approach to follow when the government consults on reform to the GOC's legislation

The consultation closes on 23 June. We would welcome your views. Please send any feedback to [email protected] by 9 June. 

Ophthalmologist Power List

Moorfields features strongly in this year's Ophthalmology Power List, with 5 out of the Top 10 specialists. Director of surgery and consultant ophthalmic surgeon Gus Gazzard holds the top spot for his RCT work. He leads the LiGHT Trial, a landmark study on laser therapy for glaucoma. Read more. 

At a glance

• Bookings are open for The College of Optometrists' Optometry Tomorrow conference on 14-15 June in Harrogate. Read more.
• AOP launches an AI hub to support optometrists and dispensing opticians to navigate emerging technologies with confidence. Read more.
• Next-generation spectacle lens aims to strengthen the optical signal to slow axial elongation and improve myopia control in children, The Ophthalmologist reports.
• The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has reviewed the NOD cataract outlier policy, supporting patient safety by changing how it flags surgeons' posterior capsule rupture (PCR) rates.
• RNIB's Out of Sight petition, which calls for more support for people with sight loss, now has more than 48,000 signatories. Read more.
• Specsavers has entered a partnership with parkrun to identify and address the barriers that prevent people from taking part, including those with sensory loss, and increase participation. Read more.
• The charity Fight or Sight has launched an initiative to map services and resources for children and young people with visual impairment to improve consistency in accessibility.

Health policy news

Dr Claire Fuller, NHS England's medical director, says organisations should stop asking for national mandates as it is unhelpful and the future is for strategic ICBs to lead on commissioning services, the HSJ reported.
 
The King's Fund reports that public satisfaction with how the NHS is run rose significantly in 2025 but remains low at 26%. Satisfaction has increased for the first time since 2019. There was no significant change in people's satisfaction with individual NHS services or how long they waited for care. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, said the analysis of the British Social Attitudes Survey 2026 proved that the NHS was now "on the road to recovery". He added: "But there's a lot of road ahead. My foot is pressing down on the accelerator, and I won't stop until the job is done."