Turning company into a crowd

The Local Optical Committee Support Unit (LOCSU) has highlighted the expansion of Primary Eyecare Companies in its latest annual report.

The 2016-17 annual report reveals that Primary Eyecare Companies (PEC) have increased both revenue and activity by more than 100% over the past year.

There are now 340 extended primary eye care services being delivered through the PEC model.

LOCSU chief operating officer, Richard Whittington, told OT that evidence is accumulating in support of the effectiveness of extended services.

“We are certainly showing results in terms of quality and clinical care. The services that we have are well-rated and they are safe,” he emphasised.

Next steps for LOCSU over the coming year will involve working to consolidate service delivery mechanisms in line with sustainable transformation plans and accountable care organisations, Mr Whittington explained.

“We need to understand what the new commissioning environment is in order to ensure that our services are relevant,” he shared.

“We need to concentrate on service delivery while at the same time reducing our administration costs,” Mr Whittington added.

Mr Whittington also emphasised the importance of focusing on clinical governance and continuing to develop extended services.

“We know that trusts across the country have got a capacity crisis because there are too many patients who are being followed up for too long in the trusts,” he highlighted.

“We need to move those patients out into community monitoring services and develop the extended services that stop patients going into hospital,” Mr Whittington emphasised.

The annual report reveals that the proportion of Clinical Commissioning Groups who are commissioning or intend to commission a minor eye care service has increased from 30% to 52%.