Location struggle for eye care

 

Commissioned by sight loss charity Visionary, the ‘Sight Saved’ report surveyed 68 PCTs, revealing multiple differences in both the level of service and the treatment received by those living in different areas across the UK.

 

Worryingly, a lack of preparation for the forthcoming changes to the NHS by new eye health commissioners was also revealed, with 87% admitting they currently had no plans for how patients with serious eye conditions would be referred. This could impact waiting time considerably, the charity believes, and as a result, it is urging PCTs to ‘develop robust handover plans’ to Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs). Once established, Visionary suggests that CCGs should audit the level of resources dedicated to eye health services, using its report to reduce location variations. 

 

The survey uncovered large differences between the investment in eye care services which some PCTs are making compared to others. Highlighting the extreme differences, while Stoke-on-Trent PCT spent just 0.5% (£2.6m) of its total expenditure in 2010/11, while Bournemouth and Poole spent 5% (£5.936m).

 

Angela Tinker, chief executive of Visionary, said: “It is frightening that in the modern health service the reality is you could lose your sight despite there being effective treatments available. People should not be made to live with the devastating effects of sight loss or impairment simply because of where they live.”

 

Reinforcing recent concerns raised by the RNIB, the survey’s results reflected the charity’s recent findings that 57% of PCTs are restricting access to cataract operations, with 11 PCTs failing to meet the 2003 target of performing 3,200 cataract procedures per 100,000 in the over 65s. 

 

Ms Tinker added: “At a local level we want to make sure systems are in place in the new NHS to help people get the right treatment fast. At a national level we want to ensure that the power is in place to redress the imbalance in the current postcode lottery to avoid unnecessary sight impairment and sight loss which seems inevitable in the current conditions.”