Primary Eyecare Services rolls out referral management service in North West England

Primary Eyecare Services has celebrated the rollout of its digitally enabled and clinician-led referral management service across the North West of England.

The Eye Care Navigation Service creates a single point of access for referrals into ophthalmology.

The not-for-profit NHS provider suggests this supports patients to be assess quicker and directed to the most appropriate eye care provider first time.

The service will also help to reduce pressure on hospital eye services, the provider suggests.

The model uses digital referrals, clinically-led triage, and a digital patient choice system.

Primary Eyecare Services believes this makes the patient journey “faster, simpler and more convenient.”

Through the roll out across the North West the service covers a population of 7.5 million people and makes Primary Eyecare Services the largest provider of eye care navigation in England.

Helen Haslett, clinical triage lead, commented: “Delivering Eye Care Navigation across the whole North West is a huge milestone. At this scale, we have a real opportunity to transform how patients access eye care, making it faster, simpler and more joined-up.”

“Our focus is on ensuring every patient is guided quickly to the right service, whether that’s expert care in the community, or the right hospital team,” Haslett added.

Primary Eyecare Services noted that the regional rollout of the service supports the NHS ambitions to improve access, reduce waiting times and direct patients to be seen in the right place at the right time.

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