18 February 2022

FODO member update – 18 February

This week:

• NHS England publishes new eye care guidance
• Welsh Government praises new eye care facilities
• Wales hopes to introduce optometry bill in September
• Optometry Scotland update - letter to community eye care
• Inflation hits 30-year high
• GOC consults on minor changes to the ESR outcomes 
• GOC responds to government consultation on Covid-19 vaccinations
• Getting started with CPD
• Other sector news

NHS England publishes new eye care guidance

The NHS National Eye Care Recovery & Transformation Programme published three key documents this week.

1. Optimising existing locally commissioned primary care optometry.

This guidance reminds commissioners that hospital eye care services in England are under significant pressure and that local commissioners need to secure safe and sustainable models of care. It recommends they do this by making better use of the expertise and infrastructure in primary eye care, stating:

• "Improved utilisation of primary eye care provides a more convenient and accessible setting for patients. It helps manage the growing demand sustainably and mitigates the increasing strain on hospital eye services. It gives the patient greater continuity of care and improves patient experience and opportunity for self-care. This approach to supporting recovery makes optimal use of an existing sizeable primary eye care workforce, utilising first contact practitioners to manage low-risk patients with long-term conditions."

It specifically advises local commissioners to review and maximise throughput under existing extended primary eye care services contracts for:

• Urgent Eye Care Services - e.g. MECS, CUES, PEARS or equivalent
• Cataract pathway (both pre and post-operative)
• Glaucoma filtering services (repeat measures and enhanced case finding)
• Glaucoma monitoring

Read the full guidance. 

2. Reducing frequent and unnecessary follow-ups.

This draft guidance provides suggestions on how hospital eye departments can reduce follow-up appointments and increase capacity to manage more urgent, complex or sight-threatening conditions. It includes recommending the "optometry first model which better utilises optometrists".

Read the draft guidance.

See the sector bodies' joint call for action on Optometry First reported in last week's newsletter. 

3. How-to guide: efficient intravitreal injections

This how-to guide provides information on designing and implementing efficient intravitreal injection services.

It highlights how the demand for this service is increasing rapidly, with Moorfields alone carrying out over 800 injections a week. This figure is set to grow to over 1,500 per week by 2029. Across England, the annual cost of intravitreal drugs is already £400 million and is expected to rise to £588 million by 2026/7, representing 16% of the total spend on eye care.

The goal is to replicate the efficiency gains made in cataract surgery using "a highly standardised process, to create an extremely efficient service with large numbers of injections given per four-hour session". It is hoped this will free up capacity to treat other patients. It also supports the use of non-medical healthcare professionals (HCPs), including optometrists, in helping deliver this service. 

Welsh Government praises new eye care facilities

Health Minister Eluned Morgan has welcomed a new NHS Wales University Eye Care Centre, established in just 100 days in Cardiff, to improve access to eye care and support services' recovery to pre-pandemic levels.

The NHS Wales University Eye Care Centre uses optometrists to see people traditionally seen in hospitals. The centre plans to see 2,700 patients each year.

The Welsh Government has invested £1 million in new surgical theatres in Cardiff, increasing cataract activity from 60 to 427 a month to help tackle waiting lists. Singleton Hospital in Swansea also plans to perform 200 additional operations a month.

Eluned Morgan said: "Improving access to treatment is vital if we want to cut waiting times and ensure eye care services are fit for the future". She added that nobody wants "people to risk their sight by having to wait a long time for treatment". 

Wales hopes to introduce optometry bill in September

Health Minister Eluned Morgan has also confirmed that the Welsh Government hopes to bring forward an optometry bill this autumn to underpin the revised GOS service in Wales with the explicit aim of cutting hospital waiting lists by around a third.

During a Health and Social Care Committee meeting, Eluned Morgan said the bill would probably go out to consultation in March, with the hope of introducing it in the Senedd in September and gaining Royal Assent in May. 

Optometry Scotland update - letter to community eye care

Optometry Scotland has shared this letter from the Scottish Government Chief optometric adviser. The letter thanks the sector for its ongoing efforts in providing high quality and safe care and provides updates on the following:

• From 1 July 2022, GOS will be changed to fund more care from independent prescriber (IP) community optometrists. It means they can manage more complex anterior eye conditions closer to home and help reduce referrals to the hospital eye service (HES).
• A Community Glaucoma Service also starts this year. It will help "HES discharge their lowest risk glaucoma and treated ocular hypertension patients to the management of accredited IP optometrists". The move is strongly supported by patients who have shared "their trust and confidence in their community optometrist, a testament to the professionalism of colleagues and their practice teams."
• Work to develop a new national Low Vision Service is progressing, and the service is expected to begin in April 2023.

The update also shares views on the GOC ESR and local change and reminds everybody about the Eyes.Scot website, the national website for eye care services and eye health information.

Inflation hits 30-year high

UK inflation is now at 5.5%, its highest in 30 years. Analysts believe this will put increased pressure on the Bank of England (BoE) to raise interest rates as inflation remains above the 2% target. In late 2021, BoE expected inflation to peak at 5% in 2022, but it now expects it to hit 7% in April. 

David Hewlett, FODO director, said: "As so often, Scotland is again leading the way, supported by Optometry Scotland and FODO Scotland, to maximise benefits for patients and the NHS by using the skills, facilities and community locations of primary eye care." 

GOC consults on minor changes to the ESR outcomes

In February 2021, the GOC approved new, updated requirements for GOC- approved qualifications for optometrists and dispensing opticians. Supporting them is a GOC commissioned sector-led indicative guidance document providing a greater level of detail to help higher education providers develop new qualifications or adapt existing approved qualifications to meet the new outcomes.
 
The Sector Partnership for Optical Knowledge and Education has now produced the indicative guidance document. As a result, some of the indicators within the Outcomes for Registration in the clinical practice category of the new requirements will need to change to reflect the indicative guidance document.  These are set out in a list of the proposed changes to the Outcomes for Registration.  
 
FODO will review the proposed changes and respond to the consultation by the closing date of 4 March 2022.
 
If you would like to contribute to the FODO response, please send comments to [email protected]. Alternatively, you can respond to the GOC directly at [email protected], but please copy us in, so we can reflect your views in the FODO response. 

GOC responds to government consultation on Covid-19 vaccinations

The GOC has responded to the government consultation on removing Covid-19 vaccination as a deployment condition for health and social care staff in England.

Leonie Milliner, chief executive of the General Optical Council, said the GOC would continue to "work closely with government, optical sector professional and representative bodies, employers and representatives in the devolved nations to ensure consistent messaging on the importance of vaccination to ensure the safety of patients." 

Getting started with CPD 

You can now watch this GOC webinar on getting started with CPD.

Other sector news

This week, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists asks what the elective recovery plan for England means for NHS ophthalmology services. Read more.

The GOC has appointed two optometrists to new council associate roles. Read more.
Ophthalmology Times reports on a home monitoring device for wet AMD.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has launched a new service making it easier for partially sighted people to use lateral flow tests in their homes.

The ophthalmic branch of Prospect will host its AGM on 13 March.