The NHS sight-test fee in England has increased from £23.53 to £24.13, backdated from 1 April 2025, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has confirmed.
The uplift comes following consultation with professional bodies. However, the Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) said the change was ‘imposed’ and that it was ‘not an offer OFNC could accept on behalf of the primary eyecare sector’.
The OFNC said the change ‘will impose yet more real terms cuts on NHS primary eyecare services’ as it is a ‘below inflation increase’.
Chair of the OFNC, Paul Carroll, said: ‘Once again primary eye care seems to be singled out for unfair treatment despite the growth in the NHS budget and Lord Darzi’s independent recommendations about rebalancing NHS spending and rebuilding primary care.
‘It is hard to fathom why, other than the low priority the NHS always gives to eye care outside hospitals.’
The OFNC added: ‘We have left officials in no doubt about how furious and disappointed practices and practitioners will be about this latest imposition given all the evidence shows that the real costs of a providing a sight test exceed £49, that is before counting the increases in national insurance, the national living wage and other taxes the government now requires primary eye care providers to fund.’
Alongside the sight test increase, DHSC added that for superannuation purposes, the practice-expense component of the fee for ophthalmic medical practitioners will be £6.12. Domiciliary fees will remain unchanged. Contractors will continue to receive £40.80 for the first and second patients seen during a home visit and £10.21 for the third and subsequent patients.
The updated sight-test fee, including the element for domiciliary visits, will be backdated to 1 April 2025, with Primary Care Support England making payments automatically.
Optometrists and ophthalmic medical practitioners who do no other paid work except sight-testing can claim a continuing professional development (CPD) payment of £596 for CPD undertaken between 1 January and 31 December 2024. The claim window runs from 8 December 2025 to 31 March 2026.
Support for supervising optometry trainees will also continue in 2025-26. Contractors employing eligible trainees can claim up to £4,010 per student for training completed between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026, calculated pro rata for placements lasting 44 to 48 weeks.
Outstanding claims for placements completed before 1 December 2025 must be submitted by 31 March 2026. The fee claimable will be the rate applicable in the year the clinical placement was completed.
NHS England said it will publish further information on how contractors can make claims for the clinical placement training payment.
