FODO member update – 15 May
This week:
- King’s Speech – NHS Modernisation Bill
- Making accurate claims update
- CPD for locums
- One million enhanced eye care assessments delivered
- Basal cell carcinoma – a cautionary tale
- At a glance
- Health policy news
King’s Speech – NHS Modernisation Bill
The NHS Modernisation Bill, announced in the King’s Speech this week, will push forward government reforms to the NHS in England.
While the bill refers to Primary Ophthalmic Services (POS), as per our 27 March update the government had already confirmed its commitment to continuing to commission GOS, as now, in accordance with national contracts.
NHS England is legally responsible for GOS contracts but there is a delegation agreement in place which means that ICBs already have taken on this responsibility from NHS England. This is reiterated in the following:
- The equality impact assessment, which states primary care services (including GOS) “are already commissioned by ICBs?and primary legislation is introducing the legal responsibility without substantially affecting the ongoing service provision in practice”
- The impact assessment pages 50-51, which confirms that given NHS England will be abolished, the bill will simply formalise existing arrangements with ICBs.
Therefore, no changes to GOS are anticipated.
Other proposals in the bill have all already been widely reported on, including:
- Abolishing NHS England by transferring its functions into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) or the wider system
- Abolishing Healthwatch and replacing it with a new patient voice function with DHSC
- Reducing the number of patient safety organisations, which will see CQC take in the functions of the Health Services Safety Investigations Body.
There are also plans to create a single patient record (SPR), which primary and secondary care will be able to access, as will patients via the NHS App.
The FODO policy team is analysing the NHS Modernisation Bill and will work with sector partners and wider primary care to track this carefully through the legislative process.
FODO will also be tracking other legislation in the King’s speech on behalf of members and the sector. This includes:
- The European Partnership Bill
- Small Business Protections (Late Payments) Bill
- Competition Reform Bill
- Regulating for Growth Bill
- Cyber Security and Resilience Bill
If you have any questions at any time about this policy work, please email [email protected].
Please note there have been minor updates to Making Accurate Claims (MAC) in England 2026. The changes on page 17 (final paragraph) and page 27 (final paragraph) clarify steps to take in the event of a PCSE system outage.
You can access the latest version here.
FODO locum members are invited to participate in an online CPD peer review event, focusing on reducing the risk of missed clinical pathology while working in practice.
‘Thinking like an expert witness’ will take place on 10 June at 7.30pm. Register your interest.
One million enhanced eye care assessments delivered
PES announced this month that one million patient assessments had taken place in one year, Optician reports.
This indicates that more patients are benefiting from enhanced eye care services delivered by community optometrists across England, demonstrating the measurable impact primary eye care is having on patients and NHS waiting lists.
Basal cell carcinoma – a cautionary tale
In an article for Clarity, healthcare regulatory solicitor Laura Smith describes how she finally got a diagnosis and treatment for an eyelid carcinoma after working on a fitness-to-practise case with striking similarities to her own experience.
She asks if the referral pathway is robust enough to ensure that optometrists are confident about referring and that patients see the right specialists.
- Boots Opticians research shows that most people now recognise that eye tests are important for overall health. Read more in Clarity.
- The AOP has launched its five-year strategy for 2026-30. Read more.
- BCLA is looking for council members to get involved in a “large project to change direction”. Read more in Clarity.
- Moorfields Eye Charity has opened applications for its 2026/27 grant programmes for ophthalmic research.
- Dispensing Optics marks World Retinoblastoma Week with a report on the role of optometrists in early diagnosis/referrals.
- New research on administering low-dose atropine to young adults sheds light on the transient effect of the myopia management drug. Read more.
- The WHO publishes planning guidance to help countries integrate vision rehabilitation services into their health systems. Read more.
- Optician?magazine’s latest optical practice survey will close?soon. Take the survey.
Wes Streeting resigned from his position as health secretary. In his resignation letter, he said he’d lost confidence in Keir Starmer’s leadership and called for him to step down, the BBC reported. James Murray has been appointed as the new health secretary.
Streeting said that it had been an honour to serve. He took the opportunity to announce that waiting times targets were surpassed in March, “falling by 110,000 – the biggest monthly drop outside Covid since 2008”.
NHS England’s latest referral-to-treatment waiting times data shows the total waiting list at 7.1 million pathways at the end of March, with an estimated six million unique patients.
Preet Kaur Gill, MP for Birmingham Edgbaston, replaces Zubir Ahmed as parliamentary under-secretary of state for health and social care.
Mabon ap Gwynfor MS has been appointed as Minister for Health and Social Care Services of Wales.
MHRA call for evidence
The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA) seeks stakeholder evidence on proposed changes to pre-market regulatory requirements for medical devices and in-vitro diagnostic devices in Britain. FODO’s policy team is reviewing this consultation on members’ behalf. If you have any comments, please email [email protected] by 10 June.