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ABPI declares eye health services ‘unsustainable’

pharmafile | June 11, 2013 | News story | Sales and Marketing ABPI, NHS England, POPI, eye health 

The ABPI’s Pharmaceutical Ophthalmology Initiative (POPI) group has called for a major re-think in how eye services are delivered on the NHS.

The ‘Better Vision for All’ report suggests ways to address what it calls fragmented and potentially unsustainable eye health services in England, and calls on the NHS to appoint a National Clinical Director for Eye Health.

The POPI group is made up of ABPI member companies who have a interest in eye health, and aims to work with others to raise the standard of eye care in the UK. The report was compiled from desk research and interviews with around 20 key stakeholders in the eye health community.

Joe Brice, chair of the POPI group, said: “What comes out clearly in ‘Better Vision for All’ is the strength of opinion about fragmented services in eye care. We hope that this consensus will help bring about change, with the potential for stronger national leadership to put services on a more sustainable footing across the country to meet rapidly growing demand to the benefit of patients.”

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The total cost of sight loss to the UK economy is estimated at £22 billion. The report adds that Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS Medical director, had admitted that rationing and delays to treatment continues. It concludes that the system is struggling to cope with demand, and needs new strategic oversight.

The report points out that the number of people registered as blind or partially sighted is rising, and the NHS needs to adapt to avoid people losing their sight unnecessarily as the complexity of eye care delivery, spanning primary, secondary and social care – and involving a mix of private and NHS providers – makes it difficult.

Lord Low, chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Eye Health and Visual Impairment adds: “With a service as fragmented as eye health, a National Clinical director, supported by an advisory National Eye Health Network, is essential. 

“Without a leader to drive the implementation of change, as has proven successful in services for cancer and cardiovascular disease, the system will fail to withstand the increasing pressures it faces and more patients will needlessly lose their sight.”

Report recommendations:

1. A National Clinical Director (NCD) for Eye Health should be appointed by NHS England to take an overarching approach to eye care and drive change in a systematic and timely manner;

2. A National Eye Health Network comprising representatives from across the eye health community should be established to provide advice to the NCD and enhance the prospects of best practice being adopted across the country;

3. An eye health awareness campaign should be developed and executed to encourage the public and health care professionals to realise the importance of eye health and emphasise the importance of eye checks;

4. A question on eye health should be developed and added into the NHS Health Check to increase awareness of the importance of sight tests;

5. Public Health England should circulate a fact sheet on the importance of eye health to all directors of Public Health and request that they ensure eye health is covered adequately in Joint Strategic Needs Assessments;

6. The National Clinical director should be responsible for supporting CCGs in providing patients access to treatments and services based on the best clinical and cost effectiveness evidence;

7. Care plans should be developed for eye care patients, owned by one practitioner, to promote a seamless experience and integrated service;

8. A list of minimum standards should be developed to guide patients on what they should expect from interactions in primary, secondary and social care;

9. New pathways should be subject to audit to ensure that patient safety and outcomes are satisfactory;

10. Digital data sharing best practice should be developed across an eye care pathway as part of the Secretary of State for Health’s Digital Challenge;

11. A best practice approach to rationalising and improving eye care service delivery should be developed, based on a systematic demand and capacity gap analysis;

12. The completion of NICE Quality Standards across the four main eye conditions should be expedited.  Its completion should trigger the development of integrated commissioning guidance by NHS England;

13. The National Clinical director should produce an annual report to benchmark different areas and drive further service improvements and best practice;

14. The National Clinical director should develop a local CQUIN framework to support commissioners in the implementation of best practice eye health pathways.

The report can be viewed in full here

Brett Wells

 

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