High street opticians will see NHS outpatients under Labour plans

Simon Brookes being measured for glasses – ROGER TAYLOR

High street opticians will deliver NHS outpatients appointments under Labour plans to slash waiting list backlogs.

The measures could see hundreds of thousands of routine consultations which normally take place in hospital instead being offered by Specsavers and other opticians.

Labour said the move could help more than 600,000 now on NHS waiting lists for ophthalmology – including 17,000 waiting more than a year.

They include hundreds of patients, often elderly, who have lost their sight while waiting for checks.

Karin Smyth, the shadow health minister, said the announcement was part of plans to reform the NHS, and wage war on waste, saying the move would save the taxpayer money.

The plans would see Labour negotiate with major chains of opticians, in an attempt to offer NHS appointments at up to 6,000 high street branches.

Ms Smyth accused the Tories of standing in the way of change, having opposed previous Labour announcements to change the way services are delivered.

She told a conference at the Institute for Government: “The Conservatives are now the defenders of a broken status quo, the enemies of reform” accusing them of “knee-jerk opposition to change”.

She said a Labour government would introduce new ways for the NHS to work more efficiently – including more use of the private sector.

“I can announce today the next Labour government will seek to negotiate a deal with high street opticians to deliver NHS outpatient appointments,” she told delegates.

‘Risk losing their eyesight’

Promising a shift of care into the community, she said: “It is more expensive to treat patients in hospital, less convenient for the patient, and much of what is done in hospital could be done closer to home. To be an outpatient, you shouldn’t have to go into hospital. The clue is in the name.”

“Take eye care. 619,000 patients are waiting for treatment. 17,000 have been waiting more than a year, while their eyesight worsens. Most are waiting for routine tests, scans, and assessments – simple appointments which could be done in an opticians. Patients are left with a desperate choice – wait and risk losing their eyesight or pay to go private.”

Ms Smyth said high street opticians could be harnessed to bring down NHS waiting lists.

She said: “There are 6,000 high street opticians in England, equipped with specialist staff and kit that can get patients seen faster. We will put them to work to beat the Tory backlog, free up hospital specialists to treat the patients in serious need, all at greater convenience to patients.”

The Labour MP hit out at Tory opposition to previous pledges, such as a promise to bring back the family doctor, and introduce supervised tooth brushing for some children aged three to five.

She accused the Tories of “caution, the lack of bravery in taking on necessary reforms” saying the “Conservatives’ cowardice” had meant billions of pounds wasted.

In the speech the shadow health minister said: “When [shadow health secretary] Wes Streeting announced that Labour would cut red tape to bring back the family doctor, I was genuinely shocked that the Conservatives opposed it.

“GPs are currently measured against more than fifty different targets. These experienced doctors are made to do millions of tick-box appointments. They’re even made to fill out forms about how burnt out they are. If ministers bothered to ask GPs why they are so exhausted, they would know it’s largely down to burdensome bureaucracy grinding them down.”

Yet Andrea Leadsom, the health minister, insisted “these targets are important” and Victoria Atkins, the Secretary of State for Health, tweeted: “What would Wes cut?”

But Ms Smyth added: “This knee-jerk opposition to change reveals that the Conservatives are now the defenders of a broken status quo, the enemies of reform.”

Ms Smyth also paid tribute to Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, saying his “superpower” was coming to politics late in life.

She said: “Keir is unlike any candidate for prime minister our country has seen in my lifetime. His superpower is that he came to politics late in life – he was 52 when he was first elected, having already reached the very top of the legal profession.

“He doesn’t come equipped with an ideological straightjacket or factional loyalty that constrains his decisions. What matters is what works and what is right.”

‘GPs of the eye’

The proposed reforms of eye care were welcomed by high street opticians and optometrists.

Giles Edmonds, clinical services director at Specsavers, said: “NHS primary care optometrists are the ‘GPs of the eye’ but there is so much more we could do to protect our patients’ sight, keep them safe and well, and take pressure of hospital services.

“As a leading provider of NHS primary care ophthalmic services we welcome the Labour Party’s plan to make greater use of high street optometry services to cut waiting lists and provide more accessible and convenient care for patients, and stand ready to partner with NHS hospital eye services to improve patient care.”

Adam Sampson, chief executive of the Association of Optometrists said: “We welcome the Labour Party’s announcement on the importance of primary eye care services. We are facing a health crisis in this country.

“Optometrists on the high street have the premises, the equipment and the clinical skills to deliver accessible, high-quality eye care for patients. All it takes is the political vision to make sure optometry is able to provide the care patients need,” he added.

Professor Ben Burton, president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists said: “Last year there were almost nine million ophthalmology outpatient attendances and 15 million NHS sight tests across the UK. With this demand set to grow even higher as our population ages, it is essential that ophthalmology and optometry are supported to deliver more integrated care.

“While expanding ophthalmology infrastructure and workforce capacity is essential and must be prioritised, we should also be making better use of the existing expertise and facilities in high street optical practices to manage stable, chronic conditions. The Labour Party’s announcement today is therefore a positive commitment to supporting eye care patients and we would offer our clinical expertise to shape this policy if delivered in government.”

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