News & Views

We call on NHS England leaders to work with professional and patient eye care organisations to improve the models and funding of eye care services to protect patients.

The Association of Optometrists (AOP), The College of Optometrists and The Royal College of Ophthalmologists have joined forces to issue a statement outlining steps to tackle increasing pressure on hospital eye departments in England.

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists would like to thank the patient who was willing to participate in important investigations, such as this report carried out by the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (HSIB) despite the devastating impact on her quality of life as a result of her sight loss.

The Ophthalmic Common Clinical Competency Framework (OCCCF) set out standards for a systematic patient-centred approach to multi-disciplinary education and training, ensuring standardised and recognised competences across ophthalmic secondary care locations in the UK.

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) recently took the opportunity to provide a statement as part of The Royal College of Physicians response to the Welsh Assembly (Senedd) Public Accounts Committee inquiry into the management of follow up outpatients across Wales.

NHS England have made a commitment in the NHS Long Term Plan to commission an in-school visual assessment for all children in special schools in England. This will allow visual assessment, refraction and dispensing of spectacles (where appropriate).

The College has recently received a report from NHS Improvement of a severe adverse reaction in a six month old child with anisocoria who had been administered apraclonidine 1% to help exclude Horner syndrome.

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists supports the quality standard but believes the implementation will be challenging for the overwhelmed hospital eye service.