Read the latest RCOphth news updates and guidance here.
The RCOphth has published the first annual report for the NOD Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) audit. The report is a significant milestone in benchmarking the delivery of AMD treatment in the UK, using data recorded as part of routine clinical care.
NHS England is consulting on proposals for the NHS Payment Scheme that will apply between 2023 and 2025, including plans to amend cataract payments. RCOphth’s response will support this change as a way to tackle the risk of “upcoding”, with the caveat that NHS England reviews the effectiveness of how the current system reflects the costs of cataract surgery and other ophthalmology services.
NHS Scotland is developing plans to support eye units to increase the number of cataracts performed per four-hour session. RCOphth is inputting into this work to ensure the most appropriate pathways are developed and clinicians and eye units receive the support they need. RCOphth Policy Manager Jordan Marshall explains the scope of the work and future timelines.
Following fears the Special School Eye Care Service would end in March 2023, it is welcome that following pressure the evaluation of the scheme has been extended to August 2023.
Following joint task and finish groups convened by The Royal College of Ophthalmologists and NHS England, guidance has been published on cataract commissioning, the referral and post-operative pathways, and training in independent sector providers.
The GMC has announced that it will make initial contact with doctors by phone if they need to investigate concerns. The change is part of a series of improvements by the GMC to take a more compassionate approach to reduce the impact of investigations and the anxiety for doctors.
Responding to the establishment of the Elective Recovery Taskforce and its focus on utilising independent sector capacity and community diagnostic centres to reduce backlogs, RCOphth stresses the need to preserve the sustainability of NHS ophthalmology services and find solutions to the long-term challenges facing the sector, particularly regarding the workforce.
Responding to the Public Accounts Committee inquiry on ‘Managing NHS backlogs & waiting times’, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) has stressed the need for consistent national coordination and resourcing of proven eye care innovations alongside an upskilling of the workforce and implementation of integrated pathways, if long backlogs and waiting times for both diagnostic and surgical appointments are to be reduced.
While health was not the central focus amid a range of important announcements on tax and spending, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement contained a positive commitment on workforce planning. RCOphth Policy Manager Jordan Marshall analyses the implications for ophthalmology.
In a recent letter to Jonathan Devereux, NHS England’s Senior Programme Lead for optical commissioning, our President Professor Bernie Chang and chair of our Paediatric Sub-Committee Susmito Biswas outlined the College’s concerns over proposed changes to the SSECS. We have also raised our concerns with MPs in Parliament.
