Eye care in the community – a vision for the NHS

The NHS Long Term Plan is an ambitious initiative that includes a number of commitments, mainly designed around preventative health measures and based on primary care service delivery.

The College has welcomed the focus on improving services outside hospitals and moving towards more joined-up, preventative and personalised care for patients. Unfortunately, eye health is not addressed sufficiently in the plan, despite the capacity pressures evident in the hospital eye service.

We are pleased that the government has committed to ensuring children with learning disabilities have their eyesight needs met, and we hope it will lead to improved services, both in the community and in special schools. But across England, hospital eye services are struggling to manage rising demand due to an ageing population and more advanced ophthalmic treatments. Delayed follow-up appointments are one of the main causes of avoidable sight loss in patients.