20 November 2025
In response to a report on the NHS backlog in elective care, the AOP has emphasised the capacity of the “clinically trained, highly capable workforce” in optometry to help ease pressure on the healthcare system and reduce waiting times for patients.
The AOP also outlined how enabling enhanced NHS eye care services across England would release millions of GP and hospital appointments.
A new report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on reducing NHS waiting times for elective care found that NHS England programmes have missed recovery targets “by significant margins.”
As of July 2025, patients on nearly 192,000 elective care pathways were waiting more than a year for care.
By July 2025, 22% of patients waited more than six weeks for diagnostic tests, this is compared to the recovery target of 5% and the standard of 1%.
Patients on 59% of clinical pathways were treated within 18 weeks of referral. This is set against a target of 65% by March 2026, and an ultimate aim of reaching the standard of 92% by March 2029.
Among the conclusions made in the report, the committee states that “too many people are still waiting too long for diagnostic tests and treatment, and the pace of change to meet recovery targets is too slow.”
PAC noted that while the outpatients programme could have made the most difference to waiting lists – as 80% of elective care waiting times end through an outpatient appointment – NHS England “did not have a credible plan for transforming outpatient services.”
The committee expressed “significant concerns” regarding future programmes announced without delivery plans or funding commitments in place.
The AOP provided evidence to the PAC’s inquiry on Reducing NHS waiting times for elective care.
Responding to the newly-released report, Adam Sampson, chief executive of the AOP, said: “The PAC’s findings confirm what patients have known for years – the NHS is still failing to deliver timely care.”
“No-one should wait over a year for treatment, yet for thousands of patients with eye conditions this is now routine. Long waits mean months of impaired vision, anxiety, and in the worst cases, avoidable sight loss – with serious consequences for work, independence and daily life,” he said.
The AOP has emphasised that by backing “the parts of the system that are working” the Government could deliver “immediate, meaningful change for patients.”
Sampson said: “In primary eye care, we already have a clinically trained, highly capable workforce ready to provide faster assessment and treatment in local communities. Harnessing this capacity would improve outcomes and significantly ease pressure on struggling GP surgeries, A&E departments, and hospital eye services.”
The AOP welcomed a call from the committee for a stronger patient focus in NHS England’s planning.
However, Sampson said: “Despite investment, the Government simply isn’t moving far enough or fast enough to meet its own ambitions.”
While the 10-Year Health Plan indicates “the right direction,” Sampson suggested there are still “major gaps while we wait for further frameworks that will shape the NHS’s future.”
A key concern is the narrow definition of primary care used in the current Planning Framework, focusing heavily on GPs, the AOP has highlighted, which overlooks the “essential roles of optometry, pharmacy, and dentistry.”
“Our evidence is clear: if every patient in England had access to the full range of enhanced NHS eye care services delivered in community optometry, we could release nearly 2 million GP and hospital appointments and save the NHS tens of millions of pounds,” Sampson concluded.
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