Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is distinct from the other three countries, as health care and social care services are jointly commissioned.
Northern Ireland is distinct from the other three countries, as health care and social care services are jointly commissioned.
The Health and Social Care Board (HSCB) is responsible for all commissioning. HSCB also manages the GP contract for primary care, as well as those for GOS, Dental and Pharmaceutical Services. GOS fees are paid via a ring-fenced health and social care budget allocation of almost £5b from the UK government.
The HSCB has contracts with over 270 ophthalmic practices across the region to provide general ophthalmic services for eligible patients. The HSCB also plans and commissions a range of special enhanced services to help manage increasing demands for eye health services.
Thanks to integrated budgets, moving patients from secondary to primary care does not have budget ramifications. This allows HSC Board to more rapidly adopt appropriate services where ophthalmology departments might be challenged by demand and lack of capacity. This capacity-building is in line with NI Health Department’s policy and strategic drivers aimed at expanding capacity and capability in primary care, reducing waiting lists and improving the interface between primary and secondary care.
In Northern Ireland, the following groups are eligible for NHS funded sight test:
More information on the NI Direct Government Services website.
Details of NHS general ophthalmic fees and optical voucher values are available here.