Claiming for CET - whose money is it really?

Optometrists can now claim for their annual CET allowance for 2006 which is £436. The relevant claim form is now available on the Department of Health website. I have attached all the relevant documentation for a quick and easy download at the end of this post.

But my question is, who should rightfully claim for this fee?
Who does this money really belong to?

With so many practitioners opting for the vast amount of free CET that is currently available, should we be rightly claiming for this fee at all? With the jury out on whether or not our dispensing colleagues should be allowed to claim for CET at all, whilst still insisting that they need to complete CET to maintain their GOG registration, does it not seems a little hypocritical that some optometrists put in a claim whilst opting out for the all the freebies?

Under the current system, optometrists make the claim via the Department of Health. This fee then goes to their employer, who is contracted to provide General Ophthalmic Services (GOS) within their Primary Care Trusts (PCT).
Yet so many optometrists complain that this is not right, that fee should go directly to them. In fact, some employees are even refusing to make this claim so that their employer does not see the money either. So what is the sensible argument here?

Well, this is the way I see it. I work as a locum in Leicestershire. My claim, which I do process, goes direct to my employer. As he has hired me to see his patients, it seems fitting that he should use this fee to maintain my training so that I continue provide the best quality services which are for the benefit of his patients.

If we all had the funding to train ourselves the way we wanted to, then this may not be in the best interests of our employer, or their patients. If the fee came direct to me, what would stop me from pocketing the money to feed my shoe habit, whilst opting out for lots of Low Vision training which I am regularly offered as a freebie, and which I probably need the least out of all the core subjects? This would not be in the best interest of my employer’s patients, where I currently provide minimal low vision service. Surely, what we should all be doing here is to be sitting down with our employers to discuss what the business needs, together with what we personally feel we need to be able to improve our services to the public.

But how many of us are doing that? Are we all just chasing the points at the moment?

My employer does actually give me the fee back because he doesn’t organise for me to go on courses. But that’s his call, not mine. I respect that. Most other employers, especially the multiples, organise CET that in the main, falls in line with both their own business plan, whilst also giving CET to the employee that they have actually requested. Thus aiming to keep both sides happy.

So, I wonder, what do people want or really expect from CET?

The 2006 CET Claim form and accompanying paperwork is listed here:

Letter to all Optometrists from Department of Health

Statement of GOS Remuneration

Optometrists Claim Form: England: deadline 21st August 2007 (for CET completed in 2006)

Optometrists Claim form: Wales: deadline 31st July 2007 (for CET completed in 2005)

A direct link to the Department of Health site is available here.

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