Minister of State for Health sets out approach to eye health at Westminster event

It is a pleasure to be here. There is a huge amount of cross-party working that goes on in Westminster and you cannot have a greater champion for you than Marsha [de Cordova, Labour MP].

You will see that the secretary of state has set out a number of priorities – in particular, A, B, C, D, but I want to add one more letter. For me there is a natural follow on – E for eyes. Certainly for me, that is going to be a priority.

My first approach is to listen to those who know what they are talking about. We engage with those at the grassroots who have that lived experience. I will be frank and honest with you, because there is no point in making promises that I cannot keep. Politics is about the art of the possible and the deliverable. I will be frank with you about what is deliverable. Then hopefully we can collaborate and come together to try and make it happen.

I see my role as a minister as a two-way street. It is not about me coming to events like this and telling you about all the great things that the Government is doing. It is also about me being your champion in Government, making sure that your voice is heard at the top table. It is to ensure that the secretary of state takes as much interest in optometry and ophthalmology as she does in pharmacy, in dentists and doctors.

That is very much my role and how I see this responsibility. In terms of priorities, there are a lot of similarities between this and my wider role in primary care – that is about prevention, early detection, elective recovery and transformation.

I want to say a huge thank you to all the eye care teams across the country who have done the most incredible work throughout the pandemic and have continued to do so given the huge pressures within the NHS.

In terms of prevention, I am passionate about two areas. One is smoking and the second is obesity. I have been on my own journey in relation to obesity. We have come a huge way on smoking and the trajectory is still going in the right direction. On obesity, we have more of a challenge. That is not going in the right direction – I say that, having been children’s minister for a year. I know that these are issues, not just when it comes to sight loss, but more broadly.

Secondly, on detection, I think there is some really good news here when it comes to sight tests. Over 12 million NHS sight tests are delivered each year. That’s something we want to continue to build on, in particular the work around diabetes screening.

Regarding elective recovery, I know that there are far too many people who are waiting too long. The pandemic has exacerbated waiting lists and all of your words, Marsha, resonate with me. I will do all in my power to try and tackle this. We have put £8 billion into elective recovery.

In terms of transformation, I know that we need to explore innovation and new ways of working. I have seen the figures – I know that demand is rising with an ageing population. Of course. that concerns me. I hear your call for a national plan and a national strategy. I am not going to promise, because I said I wouldn’t do that, but I am going to take it away and look at it.

I want to see what services we can move from the hospital into the community. It is not just about optometry and ophthalmology. When I speak to most patients, what they says is ‘I want my care to be close to home.’ Whether that is in a local GP practice or primary care network, what can we do? We need to look at the art of the possible within that space.

I know that there are Optometry First pilots that are taking place now. I am going to look into that and see where there is the potential to turbo charge that. I hope you are pleased about the appointment of our first national clinical director for eye care. It is early days but I think that is a good first step.

I am looking forward to working with you on this. I work within a department full of the most brilliant people, with amazing knowledge and experience. Having said that, it is all of you who represent and support those with lived experience that I need to hear from too. It is one thing to have a policy in Westminster and it is another thing what is actually being delivered on the ground at grassroots level.

This is genuinely an open invitation – my door is always open to hear from you, to work with you and to collaborate with you. If there are opportunities to come and visit – not just great practice but also where things aren’t going so well – I’m really keen to get out of the department.

What drives me is improving life outcomes. What you do is at the heart of that. I look forward to working together to bring about positive change.