Expansion of community eye care services focus of Specsavers’ Access to Care 2025 report

Expansion of eye and hearing care services in the community would support the economy and improve patients’ access to care, Specsavers has emphasised.

In its newly released report, the organisation urged the Government to invest further in “proven local care models.”

It also notes that the NHS must consistently include primary care optometry and audiology as essential partners.

Investment in eye and hearing care would also create jobs and benefit the High Street through extra footfall, Specsavers said.

In the report, Specsavers clinical services director for optics, Giles Edmonds, and Specsavers chief audiologist, Gordon Harrison, call for consistency in community glaucoma services, and universal access to urgent eye care via High Street optometry practices.

“Our sector has the capacity, technology, and skills to do more,” Specsavers said.

“National governments, health boards, and Integrated Care Boards should be encouraged to continue to make the policy decisions that will transform access, offering patients even greater convenience, choice, and control,” Edmonds and Harrison added.

Proven models, including the value of community glaucoma services, are highlighted in the Access to Care 2025 report.

The report notes that, when commissioned, community glaucoma services reduce hospital eye visits by around 50%.

Up to 300,000 hospital eye service appointments would be freed up if community glaucoma services were commissioned across England, the report said.

The report also highlights that, in areas that have Community Urgent Eye Care Service or Minor Eye Conditions Services commissioned, between 75% and 97% of urgent eye cases are successfully treated in community optometry practices.

Examples of best practice highlighted include a community glaucoma service with a single point of access in Greater Manchester, clinical leadership and innovation in Wales, and an integrated shared care glaucoma scheme in Northern Ireland.

Specsavers’ founder and chairman, Doug Perkins, emphasised the need for national commissioning, a move towards funding within communities, and further education so that the public know that community optometry is best served to treat their eye care needs.

“We are ready, and the need is urgent,” Perkins said.

He added: “The 10-Year Health Plan gives local leaders the power to innovate. We embrace this shift and call on policymakers to act now to tackle the ‘postcode lottery’ in access to eye and hearing health services. Let’s continue to build a healthcare system that works for everyone.”

Specsavers is also calling for a nationally commissioned NHS primary care audiology service.

Time to “evolve and adapt”

The report has been released as the three biggest political parties prepare to gather for their annual autumn conferences, which start with the Liberal Democrats in Bournemouth from Sunday 21 September.

The Government released its 10-Year Health Plan, outlining its plans to move healthcare into communities and away from hospitals, in July.

Opening the Access to Care 2025 report, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, Matthew Taylor, noted that people are living longer and with more complex needs, meaning changing models of care is no longer optional.

“We must evolve and adapt to new and different ways of working to serve our local communities best so the NHS as a model of care, free at the point of need, survives well into the 21^st century,” Taylor said.

He noted that “many providers are breaking down their traditional silos to offer patients truly personalised and integrated care,” adding: “I have seen first-hand the potential to do things differently. Some relatively simple changes could have a radical impact on system demand and patient experience.”

Taylor noted that a visit to a Specsavers practice in Sale, Manchester, earlier this year, allowed him to witness firsthand the work to prevent complex eye conditions that is being facilitated by Primary Eyecare Services.

Witnessing the work being done “felt like a glimpse into a future – a more sustainable, more effective NHS that not only makes a huge difference to people’s quality of life, but that also drives local economies,” Taylor said.

There is a strong local appetite across the country for service improvement, Taylor believes.

He added: “The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan provides the opportunity to drive this fundamental change, and some of the examples detailed [in the report] will help pave the way.”

The Access to Care 2025 report is available to download online.