en.Wedoany.com Reported - The UK government is investing £20 million to enable community optometrists to refer patients directly to NHS hospital eye services through a digital system, aiming to reduce unnecessary GP appointments and speed up diagnoses.
Optometrists are eye care professionals responsible for checking vision, detecting eye diseases, and prescribing glasses or contact lenses. Under the new plan, when the virtual service launches next year, they will also be able to refer patients to NHS Online. Access to relevant patient records is intended to support faster and more accurate clinical decision-making.
Every eye clinic in England with an NHS contract will gain access to the NHS e-Referral Service and the National Care Record Service. The government aims to achieve 100% access coverage by April 2028. The NHS e-Referral Service allows healthcare professionals to electronically refer patients to specialist care, while the National Care Record Service authorises professionals to access relevant patient information held across different health and care settings. This £20 million investment will also fund training and support to help eye clinics use these systems.
Health and Social Care Minister Stephen Kinnock said: "For too long, patients have faced unnecessary delays, avoidable hospital trips, and a fragmented system that does not put their needs first. From today, that changes. This £20 million investment will bring eye care closer to home, equipping high street optometrists with digital tools to refer patients faster and more accurately."
The government stated that areas already using digital referral systems have recorded a reduction in GP referrals for eye care. A national rollout could ease pressure across the healthcare system and free up GP appointments for other patients.
In addition to the investment, NHS England has published the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Glaucoma Best Practice Guide, the first of its kind in England. Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions that damage the optic nerve and can lead to permanent vision loss if left untreated. The guide aims to improve early diagnosis, helping hundreds of thousands of patients receive follow-up appointments on time and closer to home.
Professor Tim Briggs, GIRFT Programme Lead and NHS England National Director for Clinical Improvement, Elective Recovery, and Emergency Care, said: "We must do everything we can to reduce the risk of avoidable vision loss, which can have a huge impact on a patient's independence. Alongside the new investment, our new national NHS guide for glaucoma care will benefit hundreds of thousands of patients, ensuring they receive earlier diagnosis and follow-up care closer to home, while helping to clear backlogs."
The Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has been using a high-volume virtual pathway since 2021. Consultant ophthalmologist Elizabeth Wilkinson at the trust said that when the pathway was introduced, the trust had a backlog of around 4,000 glaucoma patients, with waiting times of up to nine months for new appointments. The backlog has since been cleared, and new patients can now be seen within weeks. She explained: "Our patients now have appointments lasting just 45 minutes, compared to the previous two to three hours. They have widely praised the new service, saying, 'This is how the NHS should work.'"
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of preventable sight loss in the UK. NHS England said that rolling out the guide across England could help hundreds of thousands of people receive timely follow-up care. Joanne Creighton, Chief Executive of Glaucoma UK, noted that the publication of the GIRFT guide is a significant step for glaucoma care at a time when services are under pressure. Rob Cooper, Head of Strategic Engagement and Implementation at the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), said that over one million people in the UK have glaucoma, and the new framework has the potential to improve the eye care patients receive. Daniel Hardiman-McCartney, Clinical Adviser at the College of Optometrists, said the guide highlights the key role of primary optometry in identifying and managing patients to help prevent avoidable sight loss.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
