GOS Test Re-Call Dates (updated March 2023)
12 March 2023
Recent NHS SBA CPD events take away messages;
MoU and Voucher at a Glance recall periods are not a stipulation.
Start with 24 month recall for all 16+ patients, then clinically justify whether a shorter recall period is needed.
Record habitual va’s in all circumstances (with specs or with old rx in trial frame)
Always make a note of the condition and age of the spectacles (Good or Bad)
encourage the use of recall codes for all sight test intervals less than 24 months
recall codes on GOS form = recall codes on clinical records
start suggesting recall codes on Clinical Records for next optometrist.
Code 6 can be used for unusual circumstances such as last Optometrist recommending a shorter recall with no obvious reason on the record.
During the 2019 NHS audits, it was brought to the attention of NTWLOC committee that not all practices were aware of the changes to recall dates for Diabetics.
With the more widespread advent of diabetic retinopathy screening, minimum non-codable recall for a Diabetic patient, who is under Diabetic retinopathy screening (DRS) and has no other issues is now 2yrs. If the patient is not under DRS, recall remains 1 year.
At the 2019 LOC AGM the CET was on appropriate recalls and one thing that seemed to surprise people was a Glaucoma patient under the HES should be on a 2-year recall.
This also applies to patients over the age of 70 years old. They will not automatically be a 12-month recall unless a clinical reason is justified on the record card to see them. A patient over 70 years with no reason for an early recall should be on a 2-year recall.
The recall dates on the memorandum of understanding are not recommended recall dates, but the minimum recall date without the need to code the GOS 1.
Recall dates are of course a clinical decision and entirely in the purview of the clinician, advice on recall frequency can be found in the College of Optometrists Guidance for professional practice, however as per college guidelines reasons for recall period should be noted on patient record, as this may be needed to justify early recall of audited by NHS.
Making Accurate Claims was re-published by the AOP in 2022 HERE.
Northumberland, Tyne and Wear LOC Latest News
Whole workforce staff training available via the BOOST platform.
Membership to the Boost community is open to anyone with an interest in driving forward change in health and care in the North East and North Cumbria. This includes people working in the NHS, local authorities, public health, voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE), people with lived experience, private sector providers and many more. …
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28 January 2025
Optometry Engagment required – for the whole workforce
The Primary Care Collaborative (PCC), supported by the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB), is developing a Primary Care Workforce Strategy. This strategy aims to address the challenges and opportunities across General Practice, Dentistry, Optometry, and Pharmacy that were identified as part of a scoping exercise in May – July this year. …
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19 December 2024
Eye Care Community of Practice, launching on Monday, 16 December 2024
access is via the Eye Care Hub situated on the FutureNHS platform. You can sign up for this HERE What’s Next? The workspace will be updated regularly with new information and resources.
15 December 2024
Update to the Extended Eyes Care Services information on this website (Dec 2024)
The webpage surrounding the Extended Eye Care services has been updated including a link to the PES Patient Eligibility Tool. HERE
12 December 2024
EeRS Electronic Referral Platform pilot
The rollout of the ‘EyeV’ electronic referral platform for the North East and North Cumbria (NENC) pilot across Optometry continues. Details regarding how to onboard an Optometrist or an Optometry practice can be found HERE There is no funding to support practices with onboarding and accessing this. EyeV is not a commissioned Enhanced Optometry Service …
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2 October 2024
Glaucoma Services Patient Discharges from NuTH (Oct 2024)
For those Optometry practices registered to accept stable glaucoma and OHT monitoring. NuTH have now begun to discharge patients from into this service, so please ensure that you regularly check your OPERA platform. Patients will appear in the “action required” section on OPERA. Please check the documents that have been attached to the …
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2 October 2024
Glaucoma Enhanced Referral Service (GERS)
August 2024 Please see below for the pathway for glaucoma patients across Northumberland, North Tyneside and Newcastle Gateshead. Please remember that patients who have a sight test at your practice and who are identified as having raised IOP and/or glaucomatous visual field loss with no other indication of glaucoma should be seen within GRR. …
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2 September 2024
Staff Wellbeing Hub
Quick, Free and Confidential Support for You! 💬 As we start 2025, many of our health and social care systems are under strain. Staff, working to deliver the best care they can, feel the pressure personally. • 1 in 3 NHS staff will experience mental ill health • 1 in 4 NHS staff will consider …
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17 July 2024
Glaucoma Repeat Readings
July 2024 Dear Colleagues, During a recent audit of the GRR service it has become apparent that some practices and practitioners are doing the GRR repeat readings on the same day. The idea of the GRR service is to check whether a raised IOP is a repeatable finding, so the checks need to be done …
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17 July 2024
Glaucoma Enhanced Referral Service – GERS (North of Tyne)
May 2024 Please see below the pathway for glaucoma patients across Northumberland, North Tyneside and Newcastle Gateshead. Remember that patients who have a sight test at your practice and who are identified as having raised IOP and/or glaucomatous visual field loss with no other indication of glaucoma should be seen within GRR. Patients who are …
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16 May 2024