Our campaign film: In the blink of an eye

Across England, patients are attending emergency departments with eye problems that could be safely managed by community optometrists.

Currently, nearly 780,000 A&E visits in England each year are for eye-related conditions:

• Eye-related attendances as a proportion of all attendances were 3% – placing ‘eyes’ in the top eight reasons that patients attend
• Total ED attendances were 25,822,265. Total eye-related attendances were 779,756
• Between 62% and 78% of eye-related ED attendances associated with the most common conditions could potentially be deflected.

Our new film, In the blink of an eye, highlights the critical issue − most common eye conditions do not require A&E, but variation in access to community eye care means many people have nowhere else to turn.

Eye related problems are consistently in the top eight reasons for attending emergency departments, placing pressure on already overstretched services. Minor and urgent eye care services allow patients with common eye problems to be assessed and treated by specially trained community optometrists. With better commissioned and resourced eye care services in England, community optometry has a role to play in alleviating pressure on NHS services, and ensuring patients receive the care they need, closer to home.

Eye care should be accessible on every High Street, and with proper investment, this could be the experience for everyone, everywhere.

Our calls for action

1.  Establish consistent national access to urgent eye care via optometry
2. Create clear triage and referral routes into community optometry
3. Use data‑driven commissioning to target demand that can be deflected
4. Improve public awareness of where to seek eye care.