Eye care to be prioritised in new NHS Online service

Eye conditions are set to form one of the priorities for the NHS’s new online hospital service, due to launch next year.

The NHS has selected nine conditions which will be the first to be treated through the NHS Online service, including menopause and menstrual issues, prostate problems, and eye conditions including cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration.

The new NHS Online hospital will allow for patients to be triaged through the NHS App, speak to doctors through video consultation, and be monitored at home.

NHS Online will see its first patients in 2027 and is expected to deliver the equivalent of up to 8.5 million virtual appointments and assessments in its first three years. This would be four times more than an average NHS trust.

Patients will continue to have a choice of face-to-face appointments, while those who require physical examinations or procedures will receive them at a hospital or local hub.

When a GP makes a referral for specialist care, patients will have an option of using NHS Online, and will receive care through the NHS App. Tests, scans or procedures will be carried out at local healthcare sites, and clinicians will be able to review notes remotely.

The proposal aims to address postcode lotteries in healthcare and reduce waiting lists.

Health and Social Care Secretary, Wes Streeting, said: “NHS Online will make accessing healthcare as simple as ordering a cab or a takeaway – fundamentally changing how people interact with the NHS for generations to come.”

Patients with the nine conditions set to be prioritised in the new NHS Online service currently face some of the longest waits, Streeting said.

The new online hospital support’s the Government’s shift, described in the 10–Year Health Plan, as “from analogue to digital.”

Peter Thomas, director of digital development and consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, said: “With our single point of access service, we’ve been defining how a virtual hospital can support better eye care.”

Moorfields has used technology to improve the capability and efficiency of the system, Thomas said, “which allows clinicians in the community and hospital services to work more closely together to streamline care.”

“The impact is clear – patients are being seen more quickly in more appropriate settings, and the pressure on NHS services is being reduced,” he added.

Keep optometry front of mind

The optical and eye care sector has welcomed the prioritisation of ophthalmology and highlighted the role of optometry practices in meeting needs in the community.

In a post on LinkedIn, Primary Eyecare Services welcomed the focus on eye care and reducing waiting times through the use of virtual care, adding: “We await to see further detail of how this will work in practice with regards to funding, staffing and digital technology.”

Dharmesh Patel, CEO of Primary Eyecare Services, raised two points of integration and care that should be kept “front of mind” in the development of these services – firstly, that local High Street optometry practices working in the community already reduce and optimise potential referrals into ophthalmology, and so “should be the first port of call.”

In addition, optometry practices can also be key for local diagnostic and face-to-face interactions to take place where required as part of the NHS Online hospital care pathway.

Primary Eyecare Services described itself as the largest lead provider of virtual eye care in England, utilising technology, optometrists, and local practices to provide care in more than 800 neighbourhoods.

“We understand the challenges around supporting virtual care and are ready to work with NHS Online to support the delivery of integrated pathways,” the provider shared.

Equitable access

Specsavers also welcomed the priority areas revealed for NHS Online.

Giles Edmonds, clinical services director at Specsavers, said of the announcement: “It recognises that eye care is a vital part of the nation’s health – with glaucoma, cataracts and conditions affecting the retina at the back of the eye included among the priorities for NHS Online.”

NHS Online provides an opportunity to improve “equitable access to care for patients,” Edmonds suggested, as well as to deliver patient choice.

“Key to unlocking its full potential will be using the skills, capability and capacity of community optometry – including delivery of enhanced optical services on the High Street,” he said.

Edmonds added that Specsavers “stands ready” to support the Government’s ambitions for patients.

Reducing the wait

Michael Wordingham, head of policy at Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), commented: “It can be a lonely and scary place when you’re waiting for weeks or months after referral while losing your sight.”

“Providing faster access to vital treatments for some of the most common causes of sight loss could help the thousands of people currently waiting for eye care appointments,” he said.

Early detection and treatment of glaucoma can slow or halt vision loss, he noted, while wet age-related macular degeneration can be managed with treatment to avoid further deterioration.

The RNIB emphasised that the service needs to be designed accessibly from the start, and in consultation with blind and partially sighted people, the third sector, and accessibility experts.

Wordingham said: “NHS Online also offers a key opportunity to integrate clinical and social elements of care and promote models like the RNIB Eye Care Support Pathway so that blind and partially sighted people get the emotional and practical support they so need.”