News & Views

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists and The College of Optometrists have collaborated on the Ophthalmic Services guidance: Designing Glaucoma Care Pathways using GLAUC-STRAT-FAST. 

Ahead of Integrated Care Systems (ICS) becoming mandatory bodies in England in July 2022, Shveta Bansal, Clinical Director of Ophthalmology at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Clinical Lead for the Ophthalmology Collaborative in Lancashire and South Cumbria ICS, and Hayley Michell, Managing Consultant (NHS Transformation Unit) and Ophthalmology Programme Lead, share their experience of shifting towards integrating care.

Over the next financial year, NHS systems in England have been asked to reduce outpatient follow-up appointments by a quarter. This RCOphth briefing provides information on steps ophthalmology departments can take, and the need for NHS trusts to avoid a blanket approach towards implementation.

In this episode we speak with Ocular Oncologist and Consultant Ophthalmologist Bertil Damato and A&E Service Director, deputy director of education and Consultant Ophthalmologist Gordon Hay both from Moorfields about the MOLES system; a scoring system used to risk stratify choroidal lesions.

A new document from the National Eye Care Recovery and Transformation Programme Team sets out the current courses and qualifications (including core professional skills) for registered eye health care professionals and how they relate to service capabilities that provide safe patient care.

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) has produced a new draft clinical guideline on the management of Angle-Closure Glaucoma. This has been developed through a guideline development group (GDG) chaired by Professor Paul Foster. The College would now welcome any comments or observations on the content, format, or recommendations in this new guidance, to help contribute to and influence the final guideline.

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) and The College of Optometrists are issuing interim recommendations on routine cataract care to help rapidly increase hospital capacity to see patients with urgent, complex or sight threatening disease.

The 2021/22 Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance published in March by NHS England and NHS Improvement has for the first time prioritised eyecare services along with cardiac and musculoskeletal services. This work is being driven through the National Eye Care Recovery and Transformation (NECRT) Programme.

NHS England (NHSE) has published Eyecare Planning & Implementation guidance for this financial year (2021-2022). The guidance is for NHS Regions, Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) moving to Integrated Care Systems (ICSs), and NHS Trusts (hospital eye services). Read the Eye Care Planning Implementation Guidance 2021-22 Summary Annexe.  This new guidance is an annexe to NHS England’s main 2021/22 priorities and operational planning guidance already published in March 2021.