Healthwatch England report welcomed
Healthwatch England report backs greater use of High Street opticians to cut NHS waiting times
Optical sector bodies have welcomed a new report from Healthwatch England showing strong public support for greater use of High Street eyecare professionals for specialist eyecare services.
Titled ‘A strain on sight: waiting for specialist NHS eyecare‘, the report is based on the findings of a survey published by Healthwatch England on its website between July and September 2024 asking people about their specialist eyecare experiences.
A total of 2,568 people responded to the survey; 1,766 people responded to the questions about having eye examinations in the last two years; 471 people responded to the questions about currently waiting for secondary eyecare; and 580 people answered the questions about secondary eyecare in the last two years.
The report focuses on the 1,051 people who responded to the questions about waiting for secondary eyecare. The most common conditions people were seeking treatment for were cataracts and glaucoma – with many respondents having multiple conditions.
According to Healthwatch England, eyecare is the busiest outpatient speciality in the NHS in England – with demand set to grow further. It cites NHS statistics showing that of the nearly 59,000 people currently waiting for specialist eyecare (as of December 2024), two thirds (66.8 per cent) had been waiting less than the 18-week target set by the government – compared to a target of 92 per cent.
The organisation, set up in 2013 as a committee of the Care Quality Commission to gather and champion the views health and social care services users to identify improvements and influence providers’ plans, suggests its research “reveals strong public support for greater use of staff in High Street opticians, as people bear the brunt of long waiting times for specialist eyecare”.
It is calling for optician services “to have more responsibility for managing people’s eyecare and referring them on for specialist treatment to help cut waiting times. Additionally, actions such as those proposed in the Optometry First model are needed to improve communications and support for people waiting for eyecare”.
Other key research findings
• Twenty-two per cent of those currently waiting for specialist eyecare services had multiple appointments before being referred
• Of those currently waiting for specialist eyecare, 64 per cent had been waiting more than four months, while 24 per cent had waited more than a year
• Of those currently waiting for treatment, 70 per cent had noticed some deterioration in vision, compared to 53 per cent of those who had received eyecare treatment in the last two years
• More than half of those currently waiting said this had affected their ability to work (54 per cent) and carry out daily household tasks (52 per cent); 69 per cent said it had affected their mental health and 75 per cent said it had affected their ability to continue with hobbies
• Only four per cent said they had been given information and advice to help with day-to-day activities, like working
• Eighty-five per cent of respondents agreed with the statement: ‘I trust an optician to refer me directly to NHS specialist services or tests for any eye condition I might have, without having to see a GP first’, while 88 per cent of those who had previously waited agreed
• For the statement: ‘I would be comfortable going to qualified professionals working in a High Street opticians for the monitoring or treatment of an eye condition’, 68 per cent of those currently waiting agreed, with 70 per cent of those who had previously waited agreeing
Key report recommendations
• The NHS should publish ophthalmology waiting list data by condition – in order to “allow increased scrutiny of waiting time progress for the most serious conditions, and ensure appropriate allocation of resources”.
• The government should make greater use of optometrists to help cut waiting times and provide more treatment and aftercare closer to home
• The government should unite existing community eyecare schemes with new national initiatives that are well communicated with the public
• Funding to support the expansion of the eyecare liaison officers programme to alongside RNIB, with universal access as the ultimate aim
Commenting on the report, Max Halford, ABDO clinical and policy director, said: “It is no surprise to see the results of the Healthwatch England survey with patients asking for an expansion of the health services they can access from eyecare professionals on the High Street. We have a highly skilled, registered workforce keen and well placed to support their patients’ eye health. Now we need to see the willingness of the government to move its focus from our over-run hospital services out into opticians practices where many patients prefer to be seen.
“Dispensing opticians, with their specialist skills, are well placed to drive the prevention-focused approach rather than a reactive sickness model, one of the suggestions of the recent Darzi Report. As the first clinicians most patients encounter upon entering a practice, they are highly trusted professionals who play a vital role in delivering accessible clinical eyecare.
“ABDO will continue to engage and lobby at all levels and across all regions of the NHS to promote patients’ eye health as a top priority,” Max added.
Professor Irene Ctori, vice president of the College of Optometrists, commented: “Healthwatch England’s new report shines the spotlight on the unsustainable waiting times for ophthalmology treatment and the critical need for the NHS to deliver on its pledge to shift focus from secondary to primary care for eyecare services in England. This will reduce hospital waiting times, reduce reliance on GPs, and enable patients to access the right eyecare, at the right time, closer to home.”