Notification of domiciliary visits (PVN)

You will have to obtain the approval from ICB before you can process a same day substitution. 

If you have the PVN number, you should enter this on the ‘create GOS6 from PVN’ and the PVN will be in PCSE online.

These will be pre-populated for you based on the information about your store and area saved in PCSE Online.

Updated Business Continuity Guidance (BCG) will be published in time for the change to the GOS regulations on 1 January 2024.

Yes, once the patient declaration is completed and saved, you can complete the rest of the GO 6 claim later.

You can make 3 changes/additions per PVN/visit.

You can have up to three additions per visit, if the regulations are met as to why 48 hours notice couldn't be given.

Yes. This is important as when claiming the GOS6, the PVN and GOS6 claim need to match. Please note if the PVN in question had more than one patient and you are not changing the visit date for all, you would need to remove the patients that you are not visiting from the existing PVN and start a new PVN within the required notification period.

A visit should not be made without a valid and accepted PVN. If you have an issue or query, please email the team at pcse.domnotifications@nhs.net, including a screenshot of any rejection reason or error messages. We will then investigate and advise.

Sight tests can be conducted at day care centres, but you can only claim the sight test fee for these visits and would not be able to claim the domiciliary fee.

The GOS Regulations are set by NHS England. You should contact your ICB, with the reason the PVN is required with short notice and request authorisation from them. You can then provide the name of the ICB colleague who has authorised the visit on the PVN in PCSE Online. You can see this demonstrated in the recording of a recent PVN webinar. 

If Gold-vision is a 3rd party PMS system which integrates with PCSE Online, and you submit PVNs that way, you would not need to use the PCSE Online. For more information, please contact your Gold-vision representative.

You can add up to 3 patients on the day of the visit, but any additional patients before then would have to follow the NHS General Optical Services (GOS) Regulations.

It is the provider’s responsibility to manage their PVNs and cancel visits that were not made or delete patients that were not seen, auto deletion is not a function that has been built in and agreed by NHSE.

If you encounter this issue, please send an email to the team at pcse.domnotifications@nhs.net, including the date of the visit in the subject. We will investigate and advise. The previous provider may have attended and issued a GOS6, but if it is more than 6 months since the visit date, for example, we may be able to authorise your visit.

A: Please enter the ERT code you believe is the most relevant reason for an early retest or check with your clinician or ICB regarding correct early retest codes to use if unsure. The early retest reason codes are below for reference: 

1. Patient is at risk of frequent changes of prescription for reasons not requiring medical referral or for reasons already known to a medical practitioner. 

2. Patient has pathology likely to worsen, for example age-related macular degeneration, cataract, corneal dystrophy or congenital anomalies. 

3. Patient has presented with symptoms or concerns requiring ophthalmic investigation: 3.1 resulting in referral to a medical practitioner; or 3.2 resulting in issue of a changed prescription; or 3.3 resulting in either no change or no referral (the patient’s record should indicate any symptoms shown to support this category of claim if necessary). 

4. 4.1 Patient needing complex lenses; or 4.2 with corrected vision of less than 6/60 in one eye. 

5. Patient has: 5.1 presented for a sight test at the request of a medical practitioner; or 5.2 is being managed by an optometrist under the GOC referral rules, for example suspect visual fields on one occasion which is not confirmed on repeat, or abnormal IOP with no other significant signs of glaucoma; or 5.3 identified in protocols as needing to be seen more frequently because of risk factors. 

6. Other unusual circumstances requiring clinical investigation.

Further information can be found in Making Accurate Claims produced by the Association of Optometrists for the optical profession in England or for more information please contact your Local ICB Office. 

The ODS code is made up of five alpha numeric characters.

You can find this information by visiting the ODS Portal and enter the name or postcode of your practice.

If a contractor is unable to visit a residence on the day arranged for reasons beyond his control, e.g. due to an outbreak of illness at the care home, the PVN must be cancelled in PCSE Online. 

A new PVN should be submitted for the new visit date following the timescales for submitting new PVN's. 

Up to three changes additions may be made at the time of the notified visit, but only if it would not have been possible to give 48 hours notice, for example in respect of a new resident or a person who has only just developed an eye or vision problem.

Changes must be made directly by the provider onto PCSE Online.

48 hours notice must be provided for any of these changes. For same day substitutions (patient or venue or date change), a provider must get prior authorisation from their local ICB. 

Once approved, a substitution to the original PVN can be made via PCSE Online directly. 

If between 3 and 8 weeks’ notice of a visit was given originally, any number of patients can be added by amending the original PVN up to 48 hours before the visit. 

If between 3 and 8 weeks’ notice of a visit was given originally, any number of patients can be added by amending the original PVN up to 48 hours before the visit. 

If between 48 hours and 3 weeks’ notice of a visit was given originally and if the original notification was for only one patient only, the contractor may add one more patient to the original PVN.

There are specific timescales for submitting PVNs in order to comply with GOS regulations. These are:

• where mobile services are to be provided to two or less patients at the same address, a period of at least 48 hours notice and not more than 8 weeks’ notice is required (exclusive of weekends / public holidays)
• where mobile services are to be provided to more than two patients at the same address (this does not included sheltered housing), a period of at least 3 weeks' notice and not more than 8 weeks’ notice is required (inclusive of weekends / public holidays)

PCSE cannot accept notifications made more than 8 weeks in advance.

For any urgent visits less than 48 hours notice, providers must contact their local ICB for prior approval. PCSE are not able to approve/process these without an authorised approval.