Eye care providers and professional bodies have welcomed the latest plans by the government and the NHS to cut waiting lists by moving care from hospitals to community.
Under the elective reform plan, millions of patients were expected to benefit from faster diagnosis and treatment, with a target of delivering routine care to nine in 10 patients within 18 weeks.
Responding to the plans, Adam Sampson, chief executive of the Association of Optometrists, said: ‘We are encouraged by the government’s clear commitment to tackling the backlog and improving overall access to elective care and treatment.’
Giles Edmonds, Specsavers clinical services director, emphasised that now was the time to improve access to care for patients in England by fully utilising the workforce in primary and community care, who had ‘the skills to do more.’
Jenny Lincoln, head of policy at Fodo, said: ‘Hospitals do not have the infrastructure or staff to meet needs safely, while primary eye care has the largest regulated eye care workforce and access to advanced diagnostic equipment close to where people live.’
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