About Us

The first constitution of the LOC (Local Optical Committee) was in 1969. It is a committee which represents optometrists and registered dispensing opticians working in the area which is co-terminus with that of the GP Clinical Commissioning Groups. There are three CCGs in the Surrey area

• Surrey Heartlands which now includes Surrey Downs, North West Surrey, East Surrey & Guildford & Waverley 
• Surrey Heath
• North East Hants & Farnham

The Surrey LOC Committee sits in the NHS England South Regional Area. Our committee is open to both optometrists and dispensing opticians. Members are elected in the usual manner of any committee at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and the honorarium members serve a term of four years. The constitution is reviewed 4 yearly or when there is a statutory change.

Its Main Objectives Are:

• To disseminate information about the general ophthalmic services and to assist individuals to understand and to comply with their terms of service.
• To promote equality in provision of eye care services
• To work with Clinical Commissioning groups (CCGs) to deliver eye care services which meet local needs and are community orientated  and to advise  on the scope and efficiency of eye care services locally
• To advise the NHS England on matters affecting practitioners providing General Ophthalmic Services (GOS)

Funding

Our funding is received from NHS England via Primary Care Support Services and is called the Statutory Levy derived from each NHS eye examination conducted i.e. the levy is raised by dividing the requested amount by the number of eye examinations conducted by all practices in the two CCG areas.

As a committee we sit at the perimeter of the NHS organisation but as a profession we have often been the first step to diagnosis of eye problems. We are keen to support and promote the community eye care services that are funded and available in the Surrey CCG areas with a view to: 

• Reducing hospital lists
• Providing local access for patients (less travel)
• Seamless patient care across primary and secondary services
• Improving collaboration between health professionals