15 March 2024

FODO member update - 15 March

This week:

• Newsnight - cataract surgery in England
• Actions to future-proof ophthalmology services
• RNIB reports on hidden social care scandal
• Patient choice updates
• PCSE issue - England
• GOC updates
• Other sector news
• Policy updates

Newsnight - cataract surgery in England

Before the pandemic, independent sector providers (ISPs) provided 24% of NHS cataract procedures in England and this number has grown to 55%, reports Newsnight.
 
David Hare, CEO of IHPN, told Newsnight that ophthalmology was a "success story" as the only speciality with average waiting times now below pre-pandemic waiting times.
 
Professor Ben Burton, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists president, said he "was very concerned" as he felt the NHS was prioritising spending on "mild cataract" surgery rather than other services that could prevent sight loss.
 
Professor Burton also shared his views on how ophthalmology could become like dentistry, which the IHPN said was misleading because more, not fewer, people could now access NHS-funded ophthalmology.
 
NHS England told Newsnight nobody was available for an interview. 

Actions to future-proof ophthalmology services

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has published a three-step plan to "future-proof NHS ophthalmology." It calls for an additional 385 ophthalmology training places by 2031, better integration of eye care through "joint working, prioritising resolving digital blockers", and reforms to how services are commissioned "to ensure independent sector capacity supports sustainable comprehensive eye care". 

RNIB reports on hidden social care scandal

The RNIB has published the findings of its Freedom of Information (FOI) request to local authorities (LAs) in England, showing that 86% of local authorities were missing the recommended deadline for exploring a person's needs after sight loss.
 
In Out of Sight - The hidden scandal of vision rehabilitation services across England, the RNIB says that 26% of LAs have left people waiting for more than a year for an assessment and subsequent support.
 
The charity has launched a petition to call on all UK political parties to commit to ensuring blind and partially sighted people get the support they need. 

Patient choice updates

Thank you to members and sector partners who responded to the FODO consultation on Supporting patient choice in England. We are reviewing all feedback and aim to publish the guidance in April.
 
Meanwhile, you can now use Department of Health and Social Care campaign assets to help support and promote patient choice. Read more. 

PCSE issue - England

PCSE has written to all contractors about an issue it identified where PVN notifications/GOS claims containing certain characters are rejected when submitted through eGOS/API.
 
While the system recognises characters associated with names, such as an apostrophe (') or a hyphen (-), it does not recognise other special characters like exclamation marks (!), quote marks ("), question marks (?), and the percent sign (%). Therefore, the system rejects submissions if they contain an unrecognisable character.
 
There is currently no mechanism to notify contractors about these rejections, but PCSE has said it is working on a solution. Meanwhile, contractors should avoid accidentally using special characters when completing a patient's details.

If you have any questions, please use the Ophthalmic Payments enquiry form on the PCSE website.  

GOC updates

The GOC held its first Council meeting of the year on 13 March 2024. Key points:

• Council approved the GOC's draft Strategic Plan 2025-2030. 'Safe and effective eye care for all' aims to simplify messaging about what the GOC plans to achieve for public protection. The GOC will consult on the plan in April and aims to publish the final version in early 2025.
• The GOC will fund additional research into 'unfairness' in Fitness to Practise decision-making.
• The Council approved the proposal to remove information about a registrant's gender from the public register.

Read more.

Other sector news

• The College of Optometrists has published a guide on how to develop clinical audit skills
• The College of Optometrists has published the Clinical Learning in Practice (CLiP) Employer handbook. It notes that the College forecasts the cost of CLiP to be £2,500 per student, which it says is "significantly lower than the current Scheme for Registration."
• UCL researchers say children with 'lazy eye' are at increased risk of serious disease in adulthood 
• GOC has appointed Carole Auchterlonie as Director of Regulatory Operations. Read more
• Famous paintings altered to raise awareness of glaucoma. Read more
• Improved understanding of the biology of eye complications caused by diabetes. Read more

Policy updates

NHS England reports that the waiting list continues to fall. According to the latest RTT data for consultant-led elective care, 7.6 million patients were waiting to start treatment at the end of January 2024. The number of unique patients is estimated to be around 6.3 million. There were 605,516 patients waiting for ophthalmology, with more than 14,000 waiting more than a year.
 
In Wales, the latest data for ophthalmology outpatients shows 152,526 patient pathways where the patient was assessed as Health Risk Factor R1, with 52% waiting beyond their target date. 
 
NHS England has updated its guidance on conditions for which over-the-counter items should not be routinely prescribed in primary care. Read more. Please note, FODO has asked the College of Optometrists for its view on this guidance and will update members on the outcome in due course.
 
11 MPs supported an Early Day Motion on World Glaucoma Day 2024 "to fight together against glaucoma blindness". They set out how glaucoma affects more than 700,000 people in the UK and thanked charities like Glaucoma UK for promoting the importance of regular eye tests. 
 
Parliamentary questions update:

• Paul Blomfield MP asked the minister, Andrea Leadsom, if "she will take steps to ensure that appropriately qualified optometrists are able to access NHS prescription forms to help reduce the onward referral of patients with eye health conditions". The minister responded that the government "would expect integrated care boards to consider the need to give appropriately qualified optometrists access to National Health Service prescription forms" where enhanced services are commissioned.
• He also asked what progress DHSC had made "on developing standard service specifications for enhanced eye care services". The minister said LOCSU had published a new "clinical specification" for minor and urgent eye care on 23 February.
• Peter Gibson MP asked the minister "what steps she is taking to help increase the uptake of the NHS email system by optometrists". She said NHS England was "considering how image sharing between community optometry and secondary care could improve access to care and patient outcomes. Secure digital communications will be critical to achieving this goal, which is why NHS England is currently testing and evaluating a number of options, including the use of National Health Service mail."