Eye care pathways discussed at Labour conference

Health and social care secretary Wes Streeting and primary care minister Stephen Kinnock both highlighted during the Labour Party conference how optometrists could improve the NHS. 

During a New Statesman fringe event, Streeting said: ‘I think that we should work with the independent sector on the high street to improve access to health care and crucially we have got to speed up some of the referral pathways.’

Kinnock noted referral pathways as an area for action during a Specsavers fringe event and set out a vision for neighbourhood health care networks. 

Giles Edmonds, clinical services director at Specsavers, added that the sector was ready and able to do more to improve access to care for patients.