General News
Welsh Eye Care Stats released
Eye care statistics for Wales
The Welsh Government has published the latest eye care statistics for Wales.
They show that primary eye care services have made a strong recovery after Covid, with activity returning to pre-pandemic levels in 2022-23 and that ‘the number of primary care optometrists continues to increase and is at a record high level’ of 1,045.
The National Survey for Wales also showed that 49% of people in Wales would now seek advice from their optometrist or optician if they had a painful or red eye, with just 2% saying they would ask a hospital.
In contrast, the Welsh Government warns that secondary care has not recovered, with more patients waiting longer and fewer closed episodes of care. The number of eye care doctors also remains similar to the previous five years, at 140 FTEs. A recent update to NHS stats had also shown far too many people in Wales remain at risk of sight loss due to delays in accessing the hospital eye service.
The key stats for 2022-23
- 321 primary eye care practices provided general ophthalmic services (GOS), with 304 practices providing the Eye Health Examination Wales (EHEW) scheme
- 790,000 GOS-funded sight tests were provided across Wales
- 23,424 domiciliary sight tests were also funded, 83.2% at the higher rate
- 210,175 total examinations took place under EHEW. 60% for band 1, 24% for band 2 and 16% for band 3
- Patients benefited from 8,096 low-vision service assessments
- 269,940 optical vouchers, a patient benefit for children and adults on means-tested-benefits, were processed to help with the cost of essential vision correction
- Registration of vision impairment increased, and the hospital eye services remained under pressure with more than 300,000 outpatient visits each year.
