National eye health strategy debated in Parliament

A parliamentary debate related to eye care was held at the House of Commons in Westminster on November 29.

MPs discussed the need for a national eye health strategy for England after Marsha de Cordova MP, co-chair of the all party parliamentary group on eye health and visual impairment, brought forward a 10-minute rule bill.

In tabling the motion, de Cordova said that a national eye health strategy would ‘eliminate the postcode lottery of eye care treatment’ and ‘ensure providers of care are joined up’ to reduce NHS ophthalmology backlogs and improve health outcomes.

The bill has gained support from Specsavers, which recently published a The State of the UK’s Eye Health report that described glaucoma as a ‘time bomb’ due to long waiting lists for NHS ophthalmology appointments.