Optometry First model to roll-out in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin

Primary Eyecare Services has been awarded a new Optometry First contract commissioned by NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

The new contract follows a tender process undertaken earlier in the year.

The new model of care will be rolled out from 1 July as part of a phased launch providing extended eye care services through networks of optometry practices.

Services include community minor and urgent eyecare services, enhanced cataract referral and post-operative assessment, integrated children’s eye care service, and post-vision screening support.

Medical retina referral filtering and monitoring, and glaucoma enhanced case findings, repeat readings and monitoring, are also included.

Claire Roberts, optometry adviser for the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin integrated care system, described this as an exciting development in the eye care offering for the local population.

She said: “It will mean that people can access services more conveniently and closer to home, reducing the time and expense currently spent on travelling to appointments, whilst at the same time investing in our community services and easing some of the pressure on our busy hospitals.”

Dharmesh Patel, chief executive of Primary Eyecare Services, said: “This award reflects our proven commitment to delivering high-quality, accessible, and patient-centred NHS eye care in local communities across 30 integrated care systems in England.”

Primary Eyecare Services already provides services in the bordering areas of Cheshire and Merseyside, Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent and Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and works closely with Shropshire local optical committee.