The NHS 10-year plan for England, published in July 2025, sets out a new model of care for the NHS. The plan proposes three big shifts – hospital to community, analogue to digital and sickness to prevention. For eye care there is a joint ambition to further utilise primary eye care services for some services traditionally managed in secondary care
As eye care transforms, RNIB and its partners must understand how these shifts will affect patients and families so we can best identify the reactive support that is needed. This includes understanding who delivers care, where it is delivered, and how patients access the support they need. Patients and professionals must be engaged throughout the process to ensure they understand and remain invested in the changes. RNIB are therefore planning to engage with people who access eye care services and professionals working across those services to develop our understanding of this area.
The objectives of the research are as follows:
- To assess the level of awareness among users of eye care services on what primary eye care services are, and how they can support them at varying stages pre, during and post diagnosis.
- To understand how the NHS’s proposed 10-year plan for eye care is currently perceived and to collate influential lived experience insight to aid the implementation of the plan.
- To identify real-time gaps or pain points in current eye care services that prevent people with conditions affecting their sight from fully understanding the primary eye care services available and accessing them when needed.
- To propose a set of recommendations for improving awareness and accessibility of primary eye care services.
- To develop some helpful guidance by those with lived experience and professionals to enhance confidence in the use of primary eye care services.
If you are a professional working in eye care we would love to hear from you – we need your expertise and experience. We plan to hold a focus group in October. This would be online via Microsoft Teams and will last for approximately two hours.
The report and findings from the research will be sent to all participants.