UK Update

Despite the challenges that Covid-19 brought in March 2020, and those still being tackled, delivery of eyecare has been maintained across the United Kingdom. Governments in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales listed eyecare within healthcare services that remained accessible throughout all lockdowns, although routine care was suspended from March to June, with only essential and urgent/emergency eyecare permitted during these months. All eyecare is now permitted in the UK whilst practitioners need to keep to increased infection prevention control (IPC), social distancing and use personal protection equipment (PPE) provided by the NHS, throughout the UK.

Being recognised as primary eye health care providers was a big step for eyecare in England, with it recognised and managed in line with all other primary care providers. It resulted in the development of the Covid Urgent Eyecare Service (CUES) which was developed in eight weeks and made available to areas within England that did not have a Minor Eye Conditions Services (MECS) to provide a pathway to deliver urgent/emergency eyecare. MECS requires additional training and accreditation hence the need for CUES as this enables optometrists and MECS accredited contact lens opticians (CLOs) to work at the top of their competencies (Core competencies for optometrists and FBDO core competency/MECS accredited CLOs). We envisage CUES will remain once we are out of the pandemic with a change in title. This demonstrated how quickly a pathway can be developed and delivered and it is hoped that going forward it will be that simple to review all eyecare services in England!

England is also progressing with National Outpatient Transformation Programme (NOTP), which is now called the Eyecare Restoration and Transformation Programme (ERTP) as it will now need to incorporate managing restoration from the pandemic due to delayed treatment/care being accessed in secondary care. Discussions in relation to the principles for the governance, direction and delivery of the ERTP are ongoing. A steering group has been established with working groups being looked at now. Optical representative bodies’ hope to have equal input to the process. The Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO), the Association of Optometrists (AOP), FODO and LOCSU are being consulted.

Some optometrists and dispensing opticians are delivering the Covid-19 vaccines through local mass delivery programmes. The majority of the optical workforce has received a first vaccination or has been offered a vaccination. At the time of writing approximately 643,000 people in the UK have been fully vaccinated with 18.6 million having had their first dose.

Unfortunately, Covid-19 has had a negative impact on children’s screening due to school closures and in England a communication has been sent to children impacted and direction given for them to attend their local optical practice to help with the backlog. We have yet to receive an update from the other countries on the position.

In Scotland they have managed to progress with the development of glaucoma patients’ shared care. Not all areas are engaged yet but some hospital eyecare departments are now sharing management of glaucoma patients with primary eyecare.

Lastly, Wales have resumed their review of eyecare services which will provide a platform to deliver eye health care, fit for patient demographics now and in the future, as the optical profession evolves embracing the new advancements in technology etc. to deliver the best eyecare available, utilising all multidisciplinary optical teams to their full potential.