Plans to end Special Eye Care Service put on hold following pressure
Following fears the Special School Eye Care Service would end in March 2023, it is welcome that following pressure the evaluation of the scheme has been extended to August 2023.
News & Views
Read the latest RCOphth news updates and guidance here.
Task and finish groups conclude work to explore cataract provision and growing role played by independent sector providers
Following joint task and finish groups convened by The Royal College of Ophthalmologists and NHS England, guidance has been published on cataract commissioning, the referral and post-operative pathways, and training in independent sector providers.
GMC makes announcement on improving investigations
The GMC has announced that it will make initial contact with doctors by phone if they need to investigate concerns. The change is part of a series of improvements by the GMC to take a more compassionate approach to reduce the impact of investigations and the anxiety for doctors.
The RCOphth supports RNIB letter on the benefits of CVI registration
The RNIB has written to The Royal College of Ophthalmologists to ask for its support in helping patients to understand how the Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) and sight impairment registration can help during the cost-of-living crisis.
New OTG Chair
The OTG has recently appointed as its new Chair Mr Hasan Naveed, representative for Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS). Mr Naveed officially took over as OTG Chair on 25 November 2022.
RCOphth elects a new President!
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists is pleased to announce that Professor Ben Burton has been elected as the next President. Professor Bernard Chang will officially hand over the office of President at the AGM during Congress in May 2023.
Unique opportunity to influence future MHRA safety communications and safety reporting systems
This is a unique opportunity for healthcare professionals and representative organisations to have your say on the way you would like to receive safety information from us.
RCOphth hosts world first for surgical skills
A recent RCOphth Cataract Surgery Complications course was the setting for the world’s first surgical skills course in a dry-lab environment where trainees watched surgical techniques being demonstrated live, in 3D
RCOphth responds to parliamentary inquiry into backlogs and waiting times
Responding to the Public Accounts Committee inquiry on ‘Managing NHS backlogs & waiting times’, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) has stressed the need for consistent national coordination and resourcing of proven eye care innovations alongside an upskilling of the workforce and implementation of integrated pathways, if long backlogs and waiting times for both diagnostic and surgical appointments are to be reduced.
Autumn Statement sees welcome commitment on workforce planning
While health was not the central focus amid a range of important announcements on tax and spending, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement contained a positive commitment on workforce planning. RCOphth Policy Manager Jordan Marshall analyses the implications for ophthalmology.