News

General Ophthalmic Services (GOS) Contract – Quality in Optometry (QiO) Submission due by 31st March 2022
January 2022

Your LOC have received the following reminder for contractors from NHSE Optometry SouthWest.

It is a national contractual requirement that GOS contractors complete and submit a Quality in Optometry (QiO) GOS contract compliance checklist once every 3 years.  This level is used by NHS England local offices for the purposes of checking and monitoring contract compliance. If you have not already completed your Quality in Optometry 2019-2022 submission can you please go the QiO website and follow the guidelines below:

  • The GOS contract checklist and details of how to complete it can be found on the Quality in Optometry website at http://www.qualityinoptometry.co.uk/
  • When completing the checklist please ensure that you select the correct CCG area where you provide Mandatory services.  For Additional contractors please select the CCG area where you provide the majority of your GOS work
  • The NHS Regional Team to select is South West.

Should you have any technical difficulties or other issues when completing the checklist please email us via our generic email address  england.optometrysouthwest@nhs.net

Please ensure you complete your submission by the deadline of 31 March 2022.

 

Fax Referral for Wet AMD No Longer Available
January 2022

We have received confirmation that fax referral to the Wet AMD clinic is no longer available. We hope that the majority of you now use secure nhs.net referral to ghn-tr.AMDteam@nhs.net . The wet AMD referral form has been updated to version 6.4 to reflect this change and is available here or the electronic version here.

We are aware that some practitioners, particularly locums, may not currently have an nhs.net email address. You can apply for a free Egress account that allows secure email transmission via nhs.net here and we encourage you to do so if necessary.

If you have a situation where urgent wet AMD referral is indicated and you have no access to nhs.net then please telephone the ARMD Co-ordinator on 0300 4228533 to register the referral and send the form by first class post as soon as possible.

Invitation to Participate in Research Project

Your LOC have been asked to publicise this Nottingham University research study that seeks optometrist and ophthalmologist participants – “The role of semantic memory in diagnostic accuracy among ophthalmologists and optometrists”. 

“Initiatives such as the Ophthalmic Common Clinical Competency Framework (OCCCF/OPT), aim to develop the multidisciplinary care team involved in providing ophthalmic care. Our aim in this research project is to try and aid these collaborative developments and similar shared care initiatives by investigating some of the underlying mechanisms involved in diagnosis. We are conducting an online questionnaire, lasting approximately 30 minutes, as part of a research study to increase our understanding of how knowledge in memory is related to diagnosis.
This work is being undertaken as part of an NIHR Academic Fellowship. Your responses will be kept confidential and anonymous. 
If you are willing to participate, please follow the link provided below. Thank you.”
 
 
Ahmed Javed FRCOphth
Academic Clinical Fellow in Medical Education

University of Nottingham

Indicative Cataract Surgery Waiting Times – October
October 2021
Latest information on cataract surgery waiting times in Gloucestershire is available here  and from the Cataract page of our website here
 
These times are supplied by the providers as indicative and may not be a guarantee that patients will be seen exactly in that time scale. Please note that the LOC is not responsible for the accuracy of these times. If you become aware of significant and sustained discrepancies in the referral times compared to the provided information, please do let us know.
Revised RCOphth Hydroxychloroquine Retinopathy Monitoring Guidelines
October 2021
There is now revised RCOphth guidance regarding the monitoring of patients taking Hydroxychloroquine.

Baseline testing for new initiators of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine is no longer recommended and there is no specific recommendation for patients to arrange annual community optometry assessments, or any specific form of self-assessment, before monitoring commences.

The full guidance document issued December 2020 by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists is available here
 
If you encounter patients signposted by a GP or rheumatologist/dermatologist for an eye examination purely because of their use of this medication please liaise with the professional involved and send them a copy of the new guidance. If assessment and monitoring is still considered appropriate this is provided by GHNHSFT and referrals should be forwarded to the CBO (Central booking office ghn-tr.cboreferrals@nhs.net )  for the attention of the consultant Elizabeth Bristow ( elizabeth.bristow@nhs.net)
Indicative Cataract Surgery Waiting Times – September
September 2021
Latest information on cataract surgery waiting times in Gloucestershire is available here  and from the Cataract page of our website here
 
These times are supplied by the providers as indicative and may not be a guarantee that patients will be seen exactly in that time scale. Please note that the LOC is not responsible for the accuracy of these times. If you become aware of significant and sustained discrepancies in the referral times compared to the provided information, please do let us know.
Launch of the Eye Care Hub Website
September 2021

The national eye care recovery and transformation programme (NECRTP) team has launched a new website, the Eye Care Hub, on NHS Futures.

This is an eyecare-specific site which contains a comprehensive set of information, guidance, and a wide range of materials to support systems, providers, and professionals in implementing the NHS England recovery guidance on improving eye care services. For more information see the LOCSU website here

Contribute to Research into Dry Eye Disease Management
August 2021

City University is conducting research into how eye care practitioners in the U.K. manage dry eye disease. To contribute your opinions please take the time to complete the questionnaire in the link below. All responses are made anonymously.

Dry eye diagnosis and management 2021

August 16th Update to PHE Guidance on Self-Isolation following COVID19 contact
August 2021

The updated PHE Guidance on NHS staff self-isolation following COVID19 contact from August 16th 2021 is available from our COVID19 resources page or here

GlosLOC/PES Publication of Indicative Cataract Surgery Waiting Times
July 2021
So that patients can make an informed decision on their preferred surgical provider for cataract surgery,  practitioners should be able to have accurate information on current waiting times. The LOC has proactively asked the secondary care providers for this information, given that it is not readily available on the provider’s website.
 
These times are supplied by the providers as indicative and may not be a guarantee that patients will be seen exactly in that time scale. Please note that the LOC is not responsible for the accuracy of these times. If you become aware of significant and sustained discrepancies in the referral times compared to the provided information, please do let us know.
 
This information will be requested and shared on a regular basis and is available here and from the Cataract page of our website here