MOS/295
4 March 2015
General Ophthalmic Services Memorandum
To all Optometrists,
Ophthalmic Medical Practitioners
and Dispensing Opticians
Dear Practitioner
Re:Guidance ON DISCRETIONARY CLAIMS FOR spare pairs of Spectacles under General Ophthalmic Services
Memorandum MOS/273advises, “No patient has ever been automatically entitled to a spare pair of glasses of the same prescription”. It does however continue that “exceptionally e.g. where a child with a disabling illness is breaking his/her glasses with such frequency that his/her education is being disrupted – permission may be sought from the Business Services Organisation(BSO)to supply a second pair”. A second GOS(NI) V form, appropriately annotated, must be used for this purpose. GOS repair and replacement facilities thereafter apply to both pairs of spectacles.
It is however appreciated that there is a degree of uncertainty concerning the definition of the term "exceptional" and the circumstances which would support the issue of a spare pair of spectacles. The underlying principle is that previous spectacles, where serviceable, should be retained as spares even if there has been a small prescription change. This is on the basis that upon, loss or damage to the main pair, repairs or replacements should under normal circumstances only take a matter of days.
Dispensing/Issuing glasses to children
Practitioners should note that it is a statutory requirement for a registered optometrist or dispensing optician to ensure that any child issued with spectacles is dispensed with these ONLY after appropriate fitting has been undertaken by a qualified OptometristorDispensing Optician. This process must take place at the point of frame selection, or if the final spectacles are other than those actually selected at the initial frame selection, on collection.
Spare Pair Approval Categories
Those cases in which spare pairs will be approved and when previous spectacles are completely unserviceable are as follows:-
- Children aged 7 years of age and under who meet one of the following conditions:
(a)Are receiving amblyopia treatment within an Orthoptic Department.
(b)Have >4D of Anisometropia and who are under Orthoptic Management.
(c)Have accommodative Esotropia, which is corrected by full time spectacle wear alone.
- Children aged less than 16 years who meet one of the following conditions.
(a)Have a high refractive error(s), and whose unaided binocular acuities are substantially impaired to the extent that they would adversely affect the child’s mobility or education (greater than or equal to +/- 6.00 DS or greater than or equal to +/- 2.00 DC).
(b) Have severe learning disabilities and as a result, damage spectacles frequently with the result that they are visually disadvantaged without them.
(d)Have medical conditions resulting in Photophobia i.e. Cone Dystrophy.
Providing the prescription is valid, i.e. issued within a 2-year period and the patient meets the criteria as above, the procedure is to seek approval from BSO staff (by OCS, telephone or letter) and issue a second GOS(NI)V form (yellow voucher) annotated with the approval number supplied by BSO.
Each voucher submitted for a spare pair must be marked accordingly and pre-approved by a BSO officer who will have recorded the approval on the appropriate database.
In the event of special circumstances out with the above groups please contact BSO/HSCB in writing.
Provision of Spare Pairs for Children issued with aPrescription from another GOS Practice
If you are presented with a prescription/voucher for dispensing issued by another GOS practice, and the patient is eligible for a spare pair, the second approved GOS(NI)V form (yellow voucher) must be obtained from the original prescribing practice.
Provision of Spare Pairs for Children issued with a Prescription through aHospital/Community Clinic (HES)
If the original prescription was issued by a Hospital/Community Clinic (HES) prescriber it is not necessary to seek a second voucher from the original Hospital/Community clinic prescriber. If the patient falls within the criteria a second pair may be issued using a GOS(NI)V form (yellow voucher) issued by the dispensing practice, following approval by BSO. The prescriber section of the GOS(NI)V form should not be signed but the supplier section must be completed. The GOS(NI) V form should be submitted to BSO for the attention of an Optometric Adviser.
Repairs/Replacements to Spare Pairs
Claims for repair or replacement of spare pairs may be made as usual using a GOS(NI)R (blue form) and approval is not needed for this.
Please note that this guidance replaces MOS/273 (June 2012).
Yours sincerely
______
Mr Raymond Curran
Assistant Director, Head of Optometry
Health and Social Care Board