Read the latest RCOphth news updates and guidance here.
We are today publishing our three-step plan to future-proof NHS ophthalmology and are calling on politicians and policymakers to follow our recommendations to secure a sustainable and comprehensive eyecare service for people across the UK.
As we enter an election year, it is imperative we build on the momentum from 2023 to strengthen ophthalmology services, training and research in the UK.
Despite important progress over the last two years, cataract surgery training opportunities in independent sector providers remain limited and in some areas – including the South West of England and London – there is no training at all in the independent sector, insights from our Ophthalmologists in Training Group (OTG) indicate.
As part of our commitment to advocate for the ophthalmology workforce and foster effective primary and secondary eyecare integration, we co-hosted the annual Parliamentary event, Westminster Eye Health Day, on 11 December. The event, held in collaboration with The Eyes Have It and hosted by Marsha de Cordova MP, aimed to highlight the challenges in eye care services to policymakers and elevate eye care on the political agenda.
The influential thinktank Reform has published a report highlighting the scale of follow-up backlogs in England, with ophthalmology the specialty with the most patients waiting for follow-up appointments. RCOphth Policy Manager Jordan Marshall summarises the key points from the report and what needs to happen next.
We have provided evidence to the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC), which is responding to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry on behalf of all members. RCOphth Policy Advisor David Murray summarises the key points from our response, which recommends four actions to ensure UK ophthalmology services are resilient and able to deliver sufficient patient care and training opportunities during and after the acute stage of a future pandemic.
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has written to Health Minister Will Quince MP to express our support for the extension of independent prescribing responsibilities to orthoptists. The British and Irish Orthoptic Society has previously advocated for these responsibilities, including in a letter to the Secretary of State.
The Government’s Elective Recovery Taskforce has announced several actions aimed at increasing capacity in England in its implementation plan, especially through expanded independent sector involvement in the delivery of NHS services. While the measures, analysed in this article, represent an important acknowledgement of the need to urgently expand capacity and aspects of the plan can help ophthalmology if implemented effectively, to make a real difference policymakers must prioritise properly investing in NHS services and its workforce and infrastructure.
The Department of Health and Social Care has today published its Elective recovery taskforce implementation plan. The plan covers England and focuses on ‘increasing the use of independent sector capacity across a broader range of specialties, helping to get NHS waiting times down and ensuring every patient can realise their right to choose where they receive their NHS care’.
As the demand of patient care and backlogs continue to put pressure on trusts and eye care units, a consequence is the difficulty in medical royal colleges being able to maintain high standards and resources to assess, examine, educate and train future generations of ophthalmologists and eye care professionals to deliver comprehensive care to patients safely and in a timely way. These responsibilities are incorporated into the charter of royal colleges.
