Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking in response to the Getting It Right First Time national report on ophthalmology, which concluded that there are notable gaps in the (a) collection and (b) utilisation of data by the NHS in ophthalmology.

The Getting It Right First Time ophthalmology metrics, including information on referrals, clinical flows and clinical risks are now collated and shared on the NHS Model Health System online platform which is accessible to all trusts and local health systems. It aims to address gaps in information by collating and sharing data, including information on waiting times and waiting lists, across various specialties, including ophthalmology. This enables trusts to benchmark their performance and agree plans to reach ‘top decile’ performance, supported by national and regional colleagues.