Babies and bathwater spring to mind when taking a deeper dive into the report on cataract services from the NHS-leaning think tank, the Centre for Health and the Public Interest (CHPI) ( 7 Days, pg 4).
Given the hopes of UK optics, post-election, to hold Wes Streeting to his pre-election pronouncements on the integration of primary and secondary eye care, it shows the enormity of the task and the diversity of views. And it’s a warning to UK optics to get its arse into gear if it stands any chance of securing change.
The report is a mine of information on the delivery of NHS cataract services helped by a Freedom of Information request to 50 NHS Trusts. It shows how funding has fallen within the NHS as fewer procedures have been conducted there. CHPI says this impacts the ability of NHS ophthalmologists to train and takes money away from other, more costly and expensive, eye care services. It says the private sector is cherry picking easy cases.
Now the worrying bit, the CHPI’s recommendations. It says the NHS should review the private sector’s role in cataract care and Integrated Care Boards (ICB) should limit or reverse the private sector’s involvement.
NHS England should review if too much of the ophthalmology budget is being spent on cataract care and that NHS England and ICBs should pause any further outsourcing of eye care services to the private sector, such as treatment for glaucoma and macular degeneration pending an assessment.
The baby siting in our bathwater is of course the patient. More has been spent outside the NHS to treat the backlog in cataract procedures. Why try to turn the clock back? Protecting the NHS is all well and good but to an elderly patient unable to see or live independently without an operation, principles are a luxury they can ill afford.
