Optegra: Filling the void

NHS England and NHS Improvement statistics released in July found that at the end of May, 62.2% of patients waiting to start treatment were waiting up to 18 weeks. The number of referral to treatment patients was 3.8 million. In ophthalmology, there were 410,799 incomplete pathways, with 57.9% of patients seen within 18 weeks.

As the demand of Covid-19 continues to take its toll on the NHS, the true effect on patients requiring treatment has not yet revealed itself. Warnings have been issued by professional bodies about the backlog of eye conditions that could occur as access and capacity issues mean fewer patients are presenting with symptoms. Eye Health UK said that an estimated five million missed sight tests during lockdown could cause a spike in sight loss, mental health issues and injuries from falls.