You may have noticed a sense of pessimism in my op-eds when it comes to eye health and, well, pretty much anything to do with the current government. But something seems different now and, dare I say it, I’m feeling rather positive.
Barring a miraculous Conservative campaign recovery, it now looks certain that Labour will form the next government. The party has been quite vocal about its intentions for community optometry, and shadow health secretary Wes Streeting has recently been on the media rounds talking about using that additional capacity to drive down waiting lists.
Speaking on LBC, Streeting’s terminology caught my attention. I’m sure the flip-flopping between ‘high street opticians’ and ‘Specsavers’ was just down to the cut and thrust of the general election campaign and nothing to do with his meeting with the multiple. Nonetheless, it would be nice if any new scheme under a Labour government utilised the whole of the optometric private sector and not just part of it.
It’s worth noting that Specsavers has called on the entire profession to come together to seize any opportunities that may present themselves with a potential change of government. In the launch of its own eye and ear health manifesto this week (News, page 4), the multiple offered a glimpse of the problems facing healthcare and the impact new outsourcing policies could have.
Putting the well-documented problems within ophthalmology to one side for a moment, the issues within hearing care are staggering. Specsavers estimates that 40% of all new referrals to audiology departments in 2023 were for uncomplicated hearing problems such as wax build up, presbycusis, and a runny nose.
All of which could be dealt with in a primary care setting it says, saving approximately two million GP appointments and 250,000 hospital slots every year. Many will feel the NHS is too sacrosanct for widespread deployment of private outsourcing, but companies like Specsavers make one hell of an argument for leaning on the private sector as part of reform.
