§ Lord Rugbyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is acceptable practice for an optician carrying out a sight test to add "E and OE" ("Errors and Omissions") to Form GOS(P), without specifying the nature of the errors and omissions; and whether such a test would attract a government subsidy.
§ Lord HeskethFamily practitioners committees do not receive a copy of Form GOS(P), which is a prescription for spectacles. Fees for sight tests are claimed separately by the practitioner.
General Ophthalmic Service practitioners are required to issue GOS(P) to the patient bearing the prescription for his spectacles. A practitioner would be liable to disciplinary action which may include a withholding of money, if he were found to have breached his National Health Service terms of service by failing to fulfil this requirement. We are not aware of any cases of this kind, but if the noble Lord has any evidence which might imply that a prescription is incomplete or inaccurate it should be sent to the local family practitioner committee for investigation.