§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has any plans to reduce the incentive for general practitioners to refer patients to National Health Service hospitals for eye tests; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorWe do not accept that general practitioners will seek to refer their patients to hospital for routine sight tests when a normal sight test by an ophthalmic optician would meet the patient's needs. It is also unlikely that the hospital eye service would accept such patients.
§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he yet has sufficient statistical information available to assess how eye test charges have contributed to preventive health care.
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§ Mr. MellorNo. Information on the number of people receiving sight tests since 1 April is not yet available. We intend to carry out a survey into numbers when the market has had time to become more stable.