Too many are at risk of harm to their sight
TOO many people in Wales are at risk of “irreversible harm” or “significant adverse outcomes” as a result of waiting too long for an eye care appointment, a new report has revealed.
Community Health Councils (CHCs), which act as independent watchdogs of NHS services in Wales, have produced a new document looking at what improvements health boards have made in the past four years.
Since 2016, they have found that health boards have taken a range of positive actions to address long waits and have shown “a real commitment” to improving eye care services for people living in their areas.
The report claims the widespread introduction of community-led services means people can get to their appointment closer to home.
It added that extending the roles of some eye care professionals is also appearing to help release consultant capacity.
It notes the Welsh Government has introduced new measures so that performance can be better monitored and improvement actions targeted at those most at risk of permanent harm.
However, the CHCs have concluded that these actions have not yet led to a better service for “far too many” people.
John Pearce, chairman of the Board of Community Health
Councils in Wales, said: “Too many people are still waiting too long to access the eye care services they need.
“According to the Welsh Government’s new measures, this means that, in August 2019, more than 40,000 people in Wales were at risk of ‘irreversible harm or significant adverse outcome’ as a result.
“This is simply not good enough. More clearly needs to be done so that people across Wales get the eye care treatment they need where and when they need it.”
He added that further action is needed to reduce the current backlog of people waiting for appointments.
And he said the Welsh Government needs to make sure that longer-term plans are capable of providing an equitable service that meets the increasing demand for eye care services across Wales.
According to the NHS in Wales, nearly 111,000 people in Wales are living with sight loss. This is estimated to increase by a third by 2030 and double by 2050.
In response, a Welsh Government spokesman said: “We committed an additional £10m last year to transform eye care services, alongside a new system to ensure that patients most in need are prioritised.
“We have also created a £3.3m fund to establish community-led services, and established a clinician-led programme to transform the way that specialisms such as ophthalmology are delivered.”