Mike Hedges AM welcomes news that Welsh Government has announced it is Transforming eye care services in Wales with Those at highest risk of going blind to receive prioritised treatment in UK first

Mike Hedges AM welcomes news that Welsh Government has announced it is Transforming eye care services in Wales with Those at highest risk of going blind to receive prioritised treatment in UK first

Eye care patients in Wales who are at the greatest risk of going blind are set to receive faster, prioritised treatment in the Welsh NHS thanks to a £3.3m investment by the Welsh Government to transform services, Health Minister Vaughan Gething announced today.

Mike Hedges AM for Swansea East said…. ‘This is good news for people in Wales with Eye Sight problems. This extra investment will enable services to be developed closer to where they live. It will also enable faster treatment paths than previously. I am pleased to note that Wales is now leading the way in Eye Care across the UK.’

It is estimated around 111,000 people in Wales are living with sight loss. This is predicted to increase by a third by 2030 and double by 2050.  Evidence suggests around 10% of new patients are at risk of irreversible sight loss compared to about 90% of follow-up patients. 

Following concerns raised by consultant ophthalmologists and RNIB, the Welsh Government commissioned an NHS-led group to review the issues facing patients on waiting lists, particularly those who require ongoing treatment.

The £3.3m investment will allow health boards in Wales to start the necessary changes to transform their services.

Actions include:

·         expanding services already established to move care closer to home, to ensure patients are seen in the most appropriate setting

·         redesigning pathways to those nationally agreed

·         introducing and further development of  virtual clinics

·         expanding the skill mix of staff, to include nurse injectors and optometrists to safely share care between community and hospital eye care professionals.

From April 2019, new guidelines will require hospital eye services to have procedures in place ensuring patients receive their assessment or treatment by the most suitable person within a clinically appropriate time. This means that those high risk patients who need be seen quickly due to their condition, should experience fewer delays. 

The measures are based on priority and urgency of care required by each patient. Priority is the risk of harm associated with the patient’s eye condition if the target appointment date is missed. Urgency is how soon that patient should be seen given the current state and/or risk of progression of the condition.

Wales is the first UK nation to introduce a measure of this kind for eye care patients.