Minister responds to calls for an eye care plan 

In a parliamentary debate on 6 May, Marsha De Cordova MP asked the minister for care about the steps he was taking to improve eye healthcare through the 10-year health plan.

Stephen Kinnock, minister for care, agreed that early diagnosis and support in eye care was “crucial” and that the “interface between the high street and secondary care is a vital part of that”.

When challenged on why MECS was not commissioned in all NHS regions, he responded that services like MECS were “clearly extremely important, and the early intervention side of eye care is particularly important”. He committed to looking into gaps in the commissioning of MECS.

Mr Kinnock added that his government was “absolutely committed to single point of access technology, which we believe can be game-changing technology and is a vital part of our shift from analogue to digital”.

He also said the government was committed to having a joined-up strategy at the heart of the forthcoming 10-year plan. However, it remains unclear whether the NHS plan will include an explicit reference to eye care.

Later in the debate, Peter Prinsley MP flagged concerns raised by the president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists about the “widespread outsourcing of NHS cataract surgery to private, for-profit providers”. The minister responded that his government felt the independent sector had an essential role in tackling waiting lists but would “not tolerate any overpriced or sub-par care” or “any distortion of patient choice”.  He added that the recently published partnership agreement between NHS England and the Independent Healthcare Provider Network would help address such risks.