§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will instigate a study to establish whether extending the range of people who are exempt from eye test charges could reduce hospital referrals.
§ Mr. MellorNo. We have no reason to believe such a study is necessary. GPs are well aware that only those patients who require diagnosis and treatment of a suspected eye condition should be referred to hospital eye departments.
§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the average cost to(a) a hospital and (b) an ophthalmic medical practitioner to give an eye test; and what assessment he has made of the reasons for any differences.
§ Mr. MellorWe do not have centrally information on the average cost of providing sight tests in hospitals. However, the current fee of £8.69 paid to an ophthalmic medical practitioner (OMP) for conducting an NHS sight test includes an expenses element of £2.13 based on the recommendation of the doctors and dentists review body. In framing its recommendation the review body took note of the results of an inquiry, which reported in 1988, into the expenses of OMPs. No comparison between the costs of undertaking sight tests in hospitals and by OMPs has been made.