Significant change across the NHS means it is vital that local optical committees (LOCs), primary eye care companies (PECs) and the optical sector are well organised, according to Mike Fegan, chairman of the Local Optical Committee Support Unit (Locsu).
‘Locsu is doing its part in bringing LOCs together and forming regional forums which will give LOCs more relevance, and the sector as a whole must develop the ability to speak with one voice,’ Fegan said in Locsu’s annual report for 2018-19.
CEO of Locsu Richard Whittington noted that the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan has driven significant change across the NHS. ‘The NHS view of service delivery and service integration sees a fundamental shift away from siloed, tariff-based service delivery towards a more integrated and collaborative approach,’ he said.
Whittington shared that there was a clear opportunity to integrate primary care optical practice into NHS delivery, with practices and PECs forging new relationships with the wider NHS and other primary care providers to deliver new and different services. ‘LOCs will need to be at the forefront of this development and delivery, and Locsu will continue to support this process as well as innovating new processes to support integration,’ he said.
Fegan added: ‘Nationally, Locsu has been engaged in a range of forums around the future of the NHS via the Long Term Plan, identifying where optical practice and LOCs will have a role.’ He said that, as a result of this work, Locsu was now seen by the NHS as a key stakeholder in the development of primary optical care.
The Foundations for Reform report also reflected on its National Optical Conference (NOC) in 2019, highlighted how Locsu responded to the pandemic and what work was being carried out to deliver training and development to optical professionals.
Plan of action
Understanding and debating NHS changes were the main themes at NOC 2019, where LOCs also learned how to engage with primary care networks, discussed what support is required and how clinical pathways should be developed within the reformed NHS. Suggested activities that came out of workshops at NOC included more support and advice for LOCs around engagement such as the development of a toolkit, plus the continued expansion and development of clinical pathways in order to take pressure off GPs.
Locsu’s annual report detailed an action plan developed after NOC that was split into two activities, which included what projects Locsu would engage in and how Locsu would fulfil these activities. It highlighted that a set of tools would be developed including the improvement of existing tools, a suite of operational support materials for LOCs to engage with primary care networks, and the promotion of new and existing clinical pathways. A range of support services for LOCs including commissioning and negotiation are noted for development as well as projects with partnership organisations that will cover IT connectivity and student engagement.
In order to carry out these actions, Locsu said it would
identify a set of core values that underpin how it works, including being locally focused, transparent and an organisation that listens to LOCs. This included facilitating LOCs to develop a regional voice to engage with NHS structure by testing regional forums and providing support across facilitation, communication and performance structures to participating LOCs. More optical leads would be created and positioned as a resource for LOCs to call on.
Training and development
Locsu detailed in its report that a core focus for the organisation is delivering training and development opportunities, something it said will be critical post-pandemic. Courses currently facilitated, such as its leadership skills programme and training in extended primary care services, were developed with the Wales Optometry Postgraduate Education Centre. In 2018, a total of 12 candidates completed the programme, which is designed to train the practitioner to become an effective leader at local and national level.
An induction course for newer LOC members was facilitated by Locsu’s digital learning support officer, Simone Mason. Thirty-one people took part in the induction courses in June 2018 and March 2019. Mason said: ‘The content of the course reflects the current news stories of the moment. For example, GDPR was introduced just before the course started on May 25, 2018, so during the hour-long webinar, expert members of the Locsu team were able to answer questions, in particular surrounding whether optical practices require a data protection officer.’
Foundation for further services
In Fegan’s foreword, he addressed how Covid-19 Urgent Eyecare Service (Cues) can become the foundation for a growing set of extended services delivered by primary care. ‘It is worth acknowledging Locsu’s leading role in responding to the crisis and, in particular, the Locsu initiative to develop and roll out Cues,’ he said. Whittington added: ‘Cues provides the basis of a new and inclusive extended service, bringing together the best of the current minor eye condition services (Mecs) with more use of independent prescribing, together with the adoption of virtual consultation and more collaboration between primary and secondary care.’ An assessment of outcomes from Cues will be covered in Locsu’s next annual report, it noted. ‘Locsu is committed to providing support and advice across a wide range of issues and I hope that all LOCs can engage in discussions and benefit from this support,’ Fegan concluded.
Read Locsu’s Foundation for Reform report on its website. www.locsu.co.uk/locsu-annual-report-2018-19-publis...
