24 January 2025

FODO member update – 24 January

This week:

• New eye care data hub launched
• FODO responds to GOC business regulations consultation
• Tear down regulatory barriers that hold back growth
• At a glance
• Policy news

New eye care data hub launched

The College of Optometrists website now hosts a co-funded and co-created data hub.
 
The new data hub provides the best available data on the eye care workforce in the UK. It also provides estimates of population needs using prevalence data collated by a Royal College of Ophthalmologists sub-group.
 
Funders include ABDO, the College of Optometrists, FODO and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.

• Access the data hub
• Learn more about the model

FODO has welcomed the new tool, which adds to the evidence for delivering more care out of hospital and closer to home.
 
Responding to the new data tool, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists said: "Hospital capacity is already failing eye care patients [...] putting them at risk of irreversible sight loss". It added that "experts are worried that hospital capacity will not meet the level of demand forecast by the increase in [the] prevalence of eye conditions and eye disease". It calls for "greater investment in training and a recognition that services should be remodelled to make best use of the eye care expertise available in and out of hospitals".

Harjit Sandhu, FODO CEO, said: "We fully support the Royal College's analysis - services need urgent remodelling. Fundamental to that is making the best use of the highly skilled primary eye care workforce. FODO members, who deliver more than 80% of primary eye care services, have long called for reforms to the hospital eye service to help avoid sight loss due to delays in care."
 
Mr Sandhu added: "We have seen enough harm caused by delays in accessing the hospital eye service. These delays are not the fault of hospital colleagues but due to the NHS commissioning system failing to implement the changes we know are necessary. We will continue to work with sector partners to push for much-needed change."  

FODO responds to GOC business regulations consultation

Thank you to all members who participated in shaping our response to the GOC business regulations consultation. Read our final response.
 
If you have any questions about our submission or what GOC plans might mean for your practice(s), please email [email protected] 

Tear down regulatory barriers that hold back growth

HM Treasury tells regulators to "tear down regulatory barriers" that hold back economic growth. The prime minister has also promised to "rip up regulation that blocks investment to make the regulatory regime fit for the modern age". 
 
Alan Tinger, FODO director, said: "Given the significant challenges in the UK economy and within our NHS, it is vital to strike the right balance with regulation. This means ensuring proportionate regulation based on risk and evidence. For example, as our recent response to the GOC consultation on business regulation sets out, there is a case for expanding business regulation. However, no evidence supports the powers to impose unlimited fines. Our response to the GOC consultation on business regulation is aligned with the government's approach to regulation, which aims to strike the right balance." 

At a glance

• Enhanced eye care services help optimise NHS resources. Read more
• The Optician reports on the profession standing ready to deliver government plans for NHS reform in England
• The Ophthalmologist reports on the link between AMD and the higher risk of heart valve disease   
• BBC reports on early research findings that indicate the potential use of AI in analysing fundus images to help diagnose dementia. 

Policy news

• The Scottish Government has confirmed it will no longer proceed with its original plans for a National Care Service. In a statement to parliament, the minister explained that after three years of developing plans, "it is clear those proposals are not supported by this Chamber". Read more.
• The prime minister has pledged to use AI to help transform care. He made the announcement at UCL, where Moorfields and others are leading on using AI in eye health. Read more.
• In related news, the government also pledged to use AI to transform how public services are delivered. Science secretary Peter Kyle said: "Sluggish technology has hampered our public services for too long, and it's costing us all a fortune in time and money." A FODO spokesperson said: "We await to see whether the government will deliver change. For many years, the eye care sector has called for investment in IT connectivity to help drive efficiency and safety in our NHS eye care services. However, little progress has been made despite the sector being willing and ready to engage with real solutions that will work for the patients we serve. We will talk with sector partners to coordinate efforts to raise this issue with the government again."
• A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) highlights how crumbling hospitals due to under-investment put services at risk. It says the NHS alone is "facing a £13.8 billion backlog".
• Ben Burton, president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, started 2025 by reflecting on his policy work in 2025. He set out his agenda in 2025: "This year, I'll continue my call for an investigation of how independent sector capacity can best be commissioned to take advantage of providers' high productivity without making essential comprehensive eye services unsustainable." Read more.