Letter setting out general ophthalmic services fees from April 2022
Published 31 March 2022
© Crown copyright 2022
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-general-ophthalmic-service-fees-and-optical-voucher-values-from-april-2022/letter-setting-out-general-ophthalmic-services-fees-from-april-2022
General ophthalmic services: NHS sight test fee, NHS optical voucher values, payments for continuing education and training, pre-registration supervisors grant and the hospital maximum charge.
Summary
I am writing to notify you of:
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the NHS sight test fee and NHS domiciliary fees from 1 April 2022
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optical voucher values from 1 April 2022
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the hospital eye service (HES) charges from 1 April 2022
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continuing education and training payment for 2021, payable in 2022
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grant payable to supervisors of pre-registration trainees from 1 April 2022
Please could you bring this information to the attention of all staff dealing with general ophthalmic services (GOS), the hospital eye service, optometrists and ophthalmic medical practitioners.
1. NHS sight test fee/NHS domiciliary fee
Following consultation with representatives of the professions, the Secretary of State has determined that the NHS sight test fee should be increased to £22.14.
For superannuation purposes please note that for ophthalmic medical practitioners the practice expense component of the sight test fee will be £5.62 from April 2021.
The fees payable to GOS contractors for NHS domiciliary visits will be £39.04 for the first and second patients seen at one visit and £9.77 for the third and subsequent patients.
Revised general ophthalmic services contracts (payments) directions are attached which apply from 1 April 2022.
2. NHS Optical voucher values
Please pay suppliers the increased voucher values in respect of all vouchers presented by patients on or after 1 April 2022.
Please note that the statutory instrument (SI) increasing the value of vouchers and supplements has been laid and is available under SI number 221 (2022) for those of you who wish to hold a copy. A copy is available here: The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Amendment) Regulations 2022.
Details of the new optical voucher values and supplements are in Annex A.
3. Hospital eye service maximum charge
From 1 April 2022 the hospital eye service maximum charges will be:
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£71.40 for single vision lenses
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£116.10 in any other case
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£58.15 per contact lens
The ‘NHS (charges for optical appliances) directions 2022’ are attached.
4. Payments for continuing education and training
The payment for 2021, in respect of continuing education and training, undertaken by optometrists and ophthalmic medical practitioners, without another medical appointment (that is, who do no other remunerative work but the testing of sight), will increase to £596.
Details of how to make a claim during the claim window, which will run from 1 July to 1 November 2022, will follow.
5. Pre-registration training for optometrists
From 1 April 2022 the allowance paid to supervisors of pre-registration trainees will increase to £3,837. Claims from trainers taking on pre-registration trainees on or after 1 April 2022 should be paid at this new rate.
Yours faithfully,
Sharon Egan
Head of Dentistry and Eye Care Services
Annex A
Optical voucher values from 1 April 2022
| Type of optical appliance | Old value | New value |
|---|---|---|
| A. Glasses with single vision lenses of a spherical power of not more than 6 dioptres with a cylindrical power of not more than 2 dioptres. | £39.10 | £39.90 |
| B. Glasses with single vision lenses: (a) of a spherical power of more than 6 dioptres but less than 10 dioptres with a cylindrical power of not more than 6 dioptres; (b) of a spherical power of less than 10 dioptres with a cylindrical power of more than 2 dioptres but not more than 6 dioptres | £59.30 | £60.50 |
| C. Glasses with single vision lenses of a spherical power of 10 or more dioptres but not more than 14 dioptres with a cylindrical power of not more than 6 dioptres. | £86.90 | £88.60 |
| D. Glasses with single vision lenses: (a) of a spherical power of more than 14 dioptres with any cylindrical power; (b) of a cylindrical power of more than 6 dioptres with any spherical power | £196.00 | £199.90 |
| E. Glasses with bifocal lenses of a spherical power of not more than 6 dioptres with a cylindrical power of not more than 2 dioptres | £67.50 | £68.80 |
| F. Glasses with bifocal lenses: (a) of a spherical power of more than 6 dioptres but less than 10 dioptres with a cylindrical power of not more than 6 dioptres; (b) of a spherical power of less than 10 dioptres with a cylindrical power of more than 2 dioptres but not more than 6 dioptres | £85.60 | £87.30 |
| G. Glasses with bifocal lenses of a spherical power of 10 or more dioptres but not more than 14 dioptres with a cylindrical power of not more than 6 dioptres | £111.20 | £113.40 |
| H. Glasses with prism-controlled bifocal lenses of any power or with bifocal lenses: (a) of a spherical power of more than 14 dioptres with any cylindrical power; (b) with a cylindrical power of more than 6 dioptres with any spherical power | £215.50 | £219.80 |
| I. (HES) glasses not falling within any of paragraphs A to H for which a prescription is given in consequence of a testing of sight by an NHS Trust | £200.80 | £204.80 |
| J. Contact lenses for which a prescription is given in consequences of a sight test by an NHS trust or NHS foundation trust | £57.00 | £58.15 |
Supplement and complex lens voucher values
| Type | Old value | New value |
|---|---|---|
| Prism (per lens) - single vision | £12.60 | £12.85 |
| Prism (per lens) - bifocal | £15.40 | £15.70 |
| Complex lens voucher - single vision | £14.60 | £14.90 |
| Complex lens voucher - bifocal | £37.40 | £38.15 |
| Tints/photochromic lens supplement (per lens) - single vision | £4.40 | £4.50 |
| Tints/photochromic lens supplement (per lens) - bifocal | £4.90 | £5.00 |
| Small glasses supplement | £64.20 | £65.50 |
| Supplement for special facial characteristics | £64.20 | £65.50 |
New repair and replacement values from 1 April 2022
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| One lens | £12.40 | £22.70 | £36.75 | £92.40 | £26.85 | £36.10 | £ 49.15 | £102.35 | £94.85 |
| Two lenses | £24.80 | £45.40 | £73.50 | £184.80 | £53.70 | £72.20 | £98.30 | £204.70 | £189.70 |
| Front of frame | £12.70 | £12.70 | £12.70 | £12.70 | £12.70 | £12.70 | £12.70 | £12.70 | £12.70 |
| Side of frame | £7.50 | £7.50 | £7.50 | £7.50 | £7.50 | £7.50 | £7.50 | £7.50 | £7.50 |
| Whole frame | £15.10 | £15.10 | £15.10 | £15.10 | £15.10 | £15.10 | £15.10 | £15.10 | £15.10 |
Note
- Where the small glasses supplement or special facial characteristics supplement applies, the amount payable for repair of the:
- front of the frame is £58.15
- side of the frame is £31.40
- whole of the frame is £65.50
- Where more than one repair is made to an optical appliance, the total paid must not exceed the aggregate of the amounts for replacing 2 lenses in the above schedule, and repairs to the part of the frame must not exceed £15.10.
Replacement – contact lenses
If only one of a pair of contact lenses is replaced the voucher value is £58.15. These provisions for contact lenses only apply to clinically necessary contact lenses prescribed by the HES or NHS Trust.