Healthcare reforms must include wider use of primary eye care, optical leaders urge UK government

Key recommendations set out in the letter to the Minister for Care, include: 

• universal commissioning of community minor and urgent eye care services to release capacity in hospitals to deliver consultant-led care
• enhanced IT connectivity to ensure seamless communication between primary eye care providers and hospital services
• read-write access to patient records for all primary care professionals, supporting the NHS transition from analogue to digital

With 95% of the UK’s eye health needs met within the primary eye care setting, optical leaders warn that healthcare reforms cannot succeed without long-term investment in the sector