College President Professor Ben Burton has commented on the Waiting List Minimum Data Set (WLMDS) Information, which NHS England published this week:
“We welcome the additional transparency from NHS England that this new data provides. This will help us to monitor trends over time and detect emerging concerns within the specialty.
What is alarming is that ophthalmology currently tops the leader board in patients waiting for their first outpatient appointment within 18 weeks of referral. As these statistics demonstrate, this problem will only intensify as the population ages, so it must be tackled now. For some time we have been vocal about the need to reduce pressures on hospital eye services. One thing that would help is ensuring sufficient consultant workforce to meet patient demand. It is therefore promising that the government has committed to 1,000 new specialty training posts where there is greatest need. We would argue that this data shows ophthalmology is clearly one such area so we hope to see this reflected in the forthcoming 10 Year Workforce Plan.
Finally we believe NHS England should provide more specificity in its ethnicity categories and reconsider its terminology if it is to accurately reflect the diverse demographic profile of the UK population.”