Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of new technologies in reducing waiting times for patients living with sight loss.

NHS England’s transformation programme is considering how eye care services should be commissioned for the future, this includes considering a greater role for technology that could allow more patients to be managed in the community, supported virtually through image sharing with specialists in NHS Trusts. This could allow a greater use of the primary care workforce to alleviate pressures in secondary care.