06 June 2018

More high street eye services will reduce avoidable blindness

The Optical Confederation, of which FODO is an active member, today called on health chiefs to take to take immediate action to end delays and reduce avoidable sight loss.

This echoed the call made today by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Eye Health and Visual Impairment for urgent action following its report into capacity. Moving non-emergency services into high-street optical practices could solve the crisis, the Optical Confederation (OC) insists. OC Chair, Fiona Anderson, said: “All eye experts are agreed this is an avoidable crisis and that the current eye health system is failing patients on grand scale. All that is needed is positive leadership and decisive action to end this appointment lottery.

“Moving routine and non-emergency eye health services into optical practices will allow the hospital sector to concentrate on the most urgent and complex cases and reduce avoidable sight loss.”

The APPG’s report follows its inquiry into capacity issues in eye care, and the findings are being launched at a Parliamentary reception for MPs today. The inquiry and its calls for urgent action are also being supported by key organisations including Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. The inquiry received evidence from 557 patients and 111 organisations.

For the full Optical Confederation press release, including details of the findings of the report and the Optical Confederation’s written submission to the APPG inquiry, click here.