Ophthalmic Clinician Data Access (OCDA) Application
Optometrists, ophthalmic medical practitioners (OMP) and body corporates can only provide or assist in the provision of eye examinations under General Ophthalmic Services (GOS) in an area of Scotland if they are included on the Ophthalmic List for the respective Health Board area within which GOS will be provided.
The Ophthalmic List comprises of two parts:
- Part 1: This includes contractors (optometrists, OMPs and body corporates) that regularly provide GOS from at least one practice in the Health Board’s area.
- Part 2: This includes optometrists and OMPs who assist a Part 1 listed contractor in the provision of GOS in the Health Board’s area, and do not regularly provide GOS from any practice in the Health Board (e.g. locums). If you provide GOS regularly from at least one practice in the Health Board then you should be Part 1 listed in that Health Board and associated with the relevant practice(s).
To apply to be included a Health Board's Ophthalmic List or change which part of the Ophthalmic List you are included on, please first check and follow any relevant Ophthalmic Listing content there may be on the relevant Health Board's section of this website. If there is no such content, please email the relevant Health Board Primary Care team via the contact details provided on the main Health Board page of this website.
Optometrists, OMPs and body corporates who are included on a Health Board’s Ophthalmic List are required, under regulation 7(2)(a) of the National Health Service (General Ophthalmic Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2006 ("2006 Regulations"), to notify the relevant Health Board in writing if there is subsequently a change to any of the information which they have provided in their listing application, and must do so within seven days of the occurrence of the relevant change.
Ophthalmic Clinician Data Access (OCDA) Application
As set out in circular PCA(O)2025(06), Health Boards currently hold data on the National Primary Care Clinician Database (NPCCD) system in relation to optometrists/OMPs who provide GOS and the Community Glaucoma Service (CGS) in the relevant Health Board’s area.
A new application hosted on the TURAS system – OCDA – has been rolled out to optometrists/OMPs who have a NHS email account, providing them with access to the data held about them by Health Boards in relation to GOS and CGS.
OCDA currently provides optometrists/OMPs with the means to submit specified data change requests to Health Boards on a system to system basis. Further information on this functionality is set out in paragraphs 8-11 of PCA(O)2025(06). This data change request functionality will be expanded in due course to cover all data held by Health Boards about optometrists/OMPs in relation to GOS and CGS provision. In the meantime, data change requests that cannot be made via OCDA should be emailed to the relevant organisation as set out in OCDA.
The Scottish Government has funded the development of OCDA to help improve the quality and accuracy of the data held within NPCCD for workforce and service planning purposes, by making it easier for clinicians to access and timeously submit data change requests to Health Boards in accordance with the 2006 Regulations. It is also the first phase of a wider programme of Scottish Government funded work already underway that will digitalise as much of the Ophthalmic Listing process as possible for optometrists/OMPs, body corporates and Health Boards.
Guidance to support optometrists/OMPs in using OCDA can be accessed via this link: OCDA - Clinician User Guide
Guidance to support Health Boards in reviewing data change requests submitted by clinicians via OCDA, and in initiating the OCDA account creation process, is under the ‘Help’ area of NPCCD, entitled ‘Clinician Data Access Guidance’.