Standing by to deliver the 10 Year Health Plan

Primary eye care: Standing by to deliver the 10 Year Health Plan
Leading primary eye care organisations announce that they will help the NHS deliver its 10 Year Health Plan

The Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) and The College of Optometrists fully support the government’s mission to tackle inequalities in access to care and outcomes for all patients in England. To deliver the 10 Year Health Plan in eye care, we commit to helping the NHS:

• Shift outpatient eye care from hospital to the community
• Prevent sight loss and its impacts
• Make the full transition from analogue to digital

To do this, we will work with the NHS to:  

• Promote the benefits of the NHS national sight testing service – this underpins the nation’s eye health, contributing to economic growth through good vision and preventing eye disease through early identification and intervention in the most equitable and cost-effective way for the NHS
• Develop national commissioning frameworks for all enhanced eye care services – to shift care out of hospital and help end the postcode lottery and inequalities patients currently suffer
• Bring together leading subject matter experts and providers to shift from analogue to digital – embrace innovation to improve to access to care and prevent sight loss.

In all we do we will make the case for rebalancing NHS expenditure and correcting the underinvestment in NHS primary eye care services. Without sustainable funding for these services, people will continue to suffer from avoidable harms due to over reliance on inefficient hospital models of care. This will include appropriate funding for the NHS eye testing service, enhanced services and IT solutions so that it is possible for practices to meet local needs.

With the right funding models, we will be able to empower the optometrists and dispensing opticians who are already a fundamental part of neighbourhoods and communities across England.  Primary eye care practices already have the infrastructure and clinicians with the core clinical skills to treat more patients outside hospital and prevent avoidable sight loss caused by delays in hospital care. By delivering more eye care services on the high street or in patients’ homes, we can meet patients’ eye care needs more rapidly and in a more personalised way and ensure that people go to hospital only when they absolutely need to. This will be better for patients and better for the NHS and taxpayers.