Effective job planning should be realistic, evidence-based and developed collaboratively.
Job plans need to reflect the full range of clinical and professional work undertaken by ophthalmologists, as well as the workforce, facilities, administrative support and digital systems needed to deliver safe, high-quality patient care.
This guidance is for ophthalmologists, clinical leaders and service managers. It sets out the expected standard for safe and sustainable job planning, while recognising that some organisations may need to work towards full implementation over time.
Principles for effective job planning
Job planning should:
- balance clinical and professional responsibilities
- involve teams in planning
- use realistic assumptions about delivery
- recognise differences between ophthalmic subspecialties
- allow flexibility as services change
- take career stage into account
- reflect the support available from the wider organisation
Productivity is not determined by the individual clinician alone. It depends on the system in which care is delivered.
High-volume clinical activity is only sustainable where there are enough trained multidisciplinary team members, appropriate facilities and equipment, and adequate administrative and digital support.
Job planning guidance
Direct clinical care (DCC) includes all patient-related activity, not only face-to-face consultations.
It can include:
- outpatient clinics
- procedures
- emergency care
- referral management
- clinical care outside consultations
- travel for clinical work
- elective single points of access
- advice and guidance
Time for consultations should reflect patient complexity and include preparation, documentation and supervision.
Procedural activity should include preparation, the procedure itself and appropriate follow-up.
Referral management needs protected time and should include associated communication and waiting-list management.
Where research involves direct patient contact, it should be included within DCC allocations.
Supporting professional activities (SPAs) are an essential part of an ophthalmologist’s role.
They include:
- continuing professional development
- appraisal and revalidation
- governance
- education and training
- audit
- research
- leadership and management
The guidance states that ophthalmologists, including consultants and SAS doctors, with a full-time job plan require a minimum of 1.5 SPAs to meet professional requirements.
It also states that meeting revalidation requirements with less than one SPA is not feasible.
SPA allocation should be sufficient, equitable and transparent.
Ophthalmologists working less than full time still need enough SPA time to meet mandatory requirements.
The guidance recommends at least one SPA for all ophthalmologists working less than full time and, in most cases, at least 1.5 SPAs.
Ophthalmology includes a wide range of subspecialties with different clinical pathways, levels of complexity, procedural requirements and follow-up needs.
Job-planning assumptions should reflect these differences.
Where possible, activity models and workforce assumptions should be informed by relevant expertise. This may include:
- specialist societies
- recognised clinical experts
- local subspecialty leads
- national or regional guidance
Appropriate clinical experts should review and agree activity models and workforce assumptions before they are implemented.
Workforce assumptions developed without relevant clinical expertise should be treated with caution.
Clinical activity depends on the capacity of the wider multidisciplinary team.
Job planning should take account of:
- availability of appropriately trained team members
- clinic and theatre capacity
- access to appropriate facilities and equipment
- administrative support
- digital and IT support
Increasing activity without the required support can lead to unrealistic expectations and additional pressure on clinicians.
Team workload planning should consider demand, workforce capacity and the service model. All ophthalmologists should be involved.
Some ophthalmology services operate across several sites or at regional or national level.
Where this applies, job plans should recognise:
- cross-site working
- travel time
- clinic and theatre availability
- coordination with regional centres
- the support available at each site
Service configurations may change over time, so job plans should remain flexible.
Where cross-site working is required, travel time should be included and changes to the job plan should be agreed with the individual.
Clinical research is recognised within job planning.
Baseline research activity includes:
- applying evidence-based practice
- taking part in audit and quality improvement
- contributing to research awareness
This activity is delivered within SPA time.
More substantial research roles may include:
- acting as principal investigator
- leading studies
- securing funding
These responsibilities require dedicated time through additional SPA allocation, research programmed activities or funded buy-out arrangements.
Research roles should have clearly allocated time and, where appropriate, funding.
Some ophthalmologists undertake additional responsibilities alongside their clinical work.
These can include:
- leadership
- service development
- regional responsibilities
These duties should be explicitly recognised and allocated appropriate time within the job plan.
Adequate administrative and IT support is essential to effective clinical delivery.
Job planning should take account of the systems and support available to clinicians and should not assume that gaps in administrative or digital provision can simply be absorbed into clinical time.
Job plans should be reviewed regularly against:
- clinical activity
- outcomes
- workforce capacity
Where full implementation is not immediately possible, organisations may need to take a phased approach.
Early priorities should include recognising:
- non-face-to-face clinical work
- referral management
- multidisciplinary team dependencies
Regular review, clear documentation, appropriate clinical input and evidence-based modelling can help reduce the risk of overestimating capacity or under-resourcing services.
Use this guidance with other job-planning resources
This page should be used alongside relevant job-planning guidance from:
About this guidance
This guidance was developed by The Royal College of Ophthalmologists and includes adapted material from the Royal College of Physicians publication Empowering physicians: effective job planning for better patient care (2025).
The adapted material is reproduced with permission.