A consortium of optical associations, led by the College of Optometrists, have collaborated to create a data tool allowing eye care and service planners to forecast future workforces.
The UK Eye Care Data Hub is an online tool that can model more than 40 eye conditions and calculate the eye care workforce, spanning both primary and secondary eye care services, to provide an overview by UK region of the next 15 years. This will empower employers' decision-making about recruitment planning and investment in higher qualifications and training, supported by the tool’s knowledge of prevalence of different eye diseases.
The College president Dr Gillian Rudduck said that the UK Eye Care Data Hub will help provide access to critical data and insights for eye care commissioners to plan services that meet the evolving needs of the local area more effectively.
‘This will help ensure patients receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time, as well as reducing hospital waiting lists for the most urgent and complex cases. We believe that by commissioning more eye care services in primary care, health commissioners can provide more timely access to effective eye care for an ageing population and ultimately help prevent avoidable sight loss,’ she added.
The project was supported and co-funded by the Association of British Dispensing Opticians, the British & Irish Orthoptic Society, the Department of Health Northern Ireland, the Federation of Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians and The Royal College of Ophthalmologists. The tool was developed by York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC) at the University of York.
