Provider Assurance delivers a national, regional and local service that supports and facilitates the effective and consistent management of primary care services.
We work on behalf of NHS England on the following tasks:
- annual GOS complaints
- GOS 4 pre-authorisation
- post-payment verification (PPV)
For more information about PPV, visit our dedicated Post-payment verification webpage.
Annual general ophthalmic services (GOS) complaints
The 2019/20 GOS complaints submission was paused due to Covid-19, however it will be open in conjunction with the 2020/21 submission which will run from 26 July 2021 until 3 September 2021.
NHSBSA will conduct a follow up exercise for contractors who have not submitted, this will run from Monday 20 September 2021 until 11:59pm Monday 18 October 2021.
Under GOS regulations 2008, contractors are required to submit an annual form that shows the number of written complaints received in their practice.
If contractors have not received any complaints a ‘zero return’ is required.
Annual GOS Complaints Submission Briefing 2020-2021 (Word: 547KB)Annual GOS Complaints Submission Briefing 2020-2021 Follow up (Word: 712KB)
If you have any questions, contact our provider assurance team by:
Email: nhsbsa.paos@nhs.net
Our core hours are 8am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday.
GOS 4 pre-authorisation
We must authorise all claims for GOS 4 repair or replacement vouchers.
Ophthalmic contractors are required to seek pre-authorisation from us for all GOS 4 claims. Patients are entitled to a GOS 4 if they have damaged or lost their glasses and they are:
Patients aged 16 to 17 and in support of local care do not need pre-approval.
Read the updated GOS 4 National Briefing (Word: 242KB).
You should contact us before carrying out any repair or providing replacement glasses. If patients contact us directly, they will be directed back to the appropriate contractor.
Once we’ve received the information from you, we will assess your claim as quickly as possible.
How to apply for an NHSmail account
If you're a GOS contractor, NHSmail is a safe and secure way to communicate with us.
To get an NHSmail account, complete our online form. This process can take up to two weeks.
The Data Security Protection (DSP) Toolkit must be completed before applying for an NHSmail account. This requirement was temporarily waivered until 30 June 2021.
Note: this registration route is only available to organisations with 10 or less practices at the present time.
Ophthalmic Bulletin
If you would like to receive our bulletin by email, complete the Ophthalmic Bulletin request form and we'll add you to the distribution list.
Contact Us
Due to coronavirus (COVID-19), our phone lines for Ophthalmic Services are temporarily unavailable. If you need to contact us, we're available to support by email between 8am and 4:30pm. You can email us at nhsbsa.paos@nhs.net.
