Letter setting out general ophthalmic services fees, payments, optical voucher values and hospital eye service maximum charges from 1 April 2024
Published 26 March 2024
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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-2024/letter-setting-out-general-ophthalmic-services-fees-payments-optical-voucher-values-and-hospital-eye-service-maximum-charges-from-1-april-2024
General ophthalmic services: NHS sight test fee, NHS optical voucher values, the hospital eye services maximum charges, continuing professional development allowance and pre-registration supervisors grant.
Summary
I am writing to notify you of:
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the NHS sight test fee and NHS domiciliary fees from 1 April 2024
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NHS optical voucher values from 1 April 2024
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the hospital eye service maximum charges from 1 April 2024
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continuing professional development allowance for 2023, payable in 2024
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payment to supervisors of pre-registration trainees from 1 April 2024
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 and NHS domiciliary fee
Following consultation with representatives of the professions, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has determined that the NHS sight test fee should be increased to £23.53.
For superannuation purposes, please note that for ophthalmic medical practitioners, the practice expense component of the sight test fee will be £5.97 from 1 April 2024.
The fees payable to GOS contractors for NHS domiciliary visits will remain at £40.80 for the first and second patients seen at one visit and £10.21 for the third and subsequent patients.
The General Ophthalmic Services Contracts (Payments) Directions 2024 are attached.
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 2024.
Please note that the statutory instrument (SI) increasing the value of vouchers and supplements has been laid and is available under SI number 294 (2024) for those of you who wish to hold a copy. A copy is available on legislation.gov.uk: The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Amendment) Regulations 2024.
Details of the new NHS optical voucher values and supplements are in Annex A.
3. Hospital eye service maximum charges
From 1 April 2024 the hospital eye service maximum charges will be:
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£75.85 for single vision glasses
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£123.34 for all other lenses for glasses
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£61.77 per contact lens
The National Health Service (Charges for Optical Appliances) Directions 2024 are attached.
4. Continuing professional development allowance
The payment in respect of continuing professional development, undertaken between 1 January and 31 December 2023, by optometrists and ophthalmic medical practitioners, without another medical appointment (that is, who do no other remunerative work but the testing of sight), will remain at £596.
The claim window will run from 1 July 2024 to on or before 31 October 2024. Details of how to make a claim during the claim window will be available from Primary Care Support England, on behalf of NHS England: CET Claim - Primary Care Support England.
The General Ophthalmic Services Contracts (Continuing Professional Development Allowance) Payments Directions 2024 are attached.
5. Pre-registration training for optometrists
From 1 April 2024 the allowance paid to supervisors of pre-registration trainees will remain at £4,010. Claims from trainers taking on pre-registration trainees on or after 1 April 2024 should be paid at this new rate.
Yours faithfully,
Alette Addison
Deputy Director - Pharmacy and Eye Care Services
Annex A
Optical voucher values
| Type of optical appliance | 2023 to 2024 value | 2024 to 2025 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 | £41.70 | £42.40 |
| 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 | £63.20 | £64.26 |
| 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 | £92.60 | £94.14 |
| 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 | £208.90 | £212.40 |
| 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 | £71.90 | £73.10 |
| 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 | £91.20 | £92.72 |
| 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 | £118.50 | £120.48 |
| 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 | £229.70 | £233.56 |
| 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 | £214.00 | £217.58 |
| J. Contact lenses for which a prescription is given in consequences of a sight test by an NHS trust or NHS foundation trust | £60.75 | £61.77 |
Supplements
| Type | 2023 to 2024 value | 2024 to 2025 value |
|---|---|---|
| Prism (per lens) - single vision | £13.45 | £13.67 |
| Prism (per lens) - any other | £16.40 | £16.67 |
| Tints or photochromic lens supplement (per lens) - single vision | £4.70 | £4.77 |
| Tints or photochromic lens supplement (per lens) - any other | £5.20 | £5.28 |
| Small glasses supplement | £68.45 | £69.60 |
| Supplement for special facial characteristics | £68.45 | £69.60 |
Help available for individuals not eligible for vouchers
Complex lens vouchers are available to patients who have a complex prescription (plus or minus ten or more) but are not eligible for an optical voucher.
| Type | 2023 to 2024 value | 2024 to 2025 value |
|---|---|---|
| Complex lens voucher - single vision | £15.55 | £15.81 |
| Complex lens voucher - any other complex appliance | £39.90 | £40.57 |
Repair and replacement values from 1 April 2023
| Voucher band | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 lens | £13.17 | £24.10 | £39.04 | £98.17 | £28.52 | £38.33 | £52.21 | £108.75 | £100.76 |
| 2 lenses | £26.34 | £48.20 | £78.08 | £196.34 | £57.04 | £76.66 | £104.42 | £217.50 | £201.52 |
| Front of frame | £13.47 | £13.47 | £13.47 | £13.47 | £13.47 | £13.47 | £13.47 | £13.47 | £13.47 |
| Side of frame | £7.98 | £7.98 | £7.98 | £7.98 | £7.98 | £7.98 | £7.98 | £7.98 | £7.98 |
| Whole frame | £16.06 | £16.06 | £16.06 | £16.06 | £16.06 | £16.06 | £16.06 | £16.06 | £16.06 |
Repairs where the small glasses supplement or special facial characteristics supplement applies
| Type | 2023 to 2024 value | 2024 to 2025 value |
|---|---|---|
| Front of the frame | £60.75 | £61.77 |
| Side of the frame | £32.80 | £33.35 |
| Whole of the frame | £68.45 | £69.60 |
Replacement – contact lenses
If only one of a pair of contact lenses is replaced the voucher value is £61.77. These provisions for contact lenses only apply to clinically necessary contact lenses prescribed by the hospital eye service or NHS trust.