Ophthalmic Services: Waiting Lists

(asked on 18th October 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) reduce waiting lists for ophthalmology care and (b) ensure that access to care is prioritised according to need.


Answered by
Will Quince Portrait
Will Quince
This question was answered on 23rd October 2023

We are taking action to recover elective services, including ophthalmology, by working towards the targets set out in the Elective Recovery Plan and providing the National Health Service with record levels of staffing and funding. We plan to transform the way the NHS provides elective care by increasing activity, including through dedicated and protected surgical hubs, focusing on providing high-volume, low-complexity surgery as recommended by the Royal College of Surgeons of England. These hubs will initially focus on driving improvement in six high volume specialties, one of these being ophthalmology.

The most recent published data from NHS England shows that the average wait time for referral to treatment for ophthalmology was 12.3 weeks, below the national average of 14.5 weeks.

The NHS will triage patients waiting for elective care through three key stages: firstly, through clinical prioritisation, ensuring the order in which patients are seen reflects clinical judgement on need; secondly, by managing long waits through targeting support to reduce the number of people waiting a long time; and thirdly, increasing the number of cancer referrals, ensuring that those patients who have not yet presented to services are included. These considerations are critical in improving overall health outcomes, underpinned by new investment and new technology.

Reticulating Splines