Professional Matters Optometry & Dispensing
Primary care inquiry – Scotland
Primary care inquiry – Scotland
The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has launched an inquiry into the different ways patients access healthcare services in Scotland in a review into alternative pathways into primary care. The committee wants to hear about non-GP based services, such as optometry, which are the first point of contact for service users.
FODO has announced that its FODO Scotland section will work with Optometry Scotland and other sector partners to respond to this inquiry, highlighting how primary eye care services in Scotland have set the benchmark for primary care access.
Their inquiry, is focused on other sources of healthcare that exist in the community, which we term ‘alternative’ pathways. These include:
- seeing a different ‘health practitioner’ who works in the GP practice or in the local community, examples of which include:
- physiotherapists
- nurses
- podiatrists
- being directed to other types of support, sometimes referred to as social prescribing, to improve health and wellbeing which could include:
- walking groups
- community groups
- advice
- volunteering
- using telephone helplines or websites to access additional information or online therapy.
This inquiry intends to explore how alternative pathways are being accessed and used in primary care. It also seeks to identify key issues and opportunities for improvement.
