Responding to the vote on the Welsh Conservative eye care debate, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Health, Sam Rowlands MS said:
“I am disappointed that our common-sense plan was not adopted by a Labour Welsh Government clearly oblivious to this issue.
“Instead of backing our plan to prevent what doctors have warned is an incoming tidal wave of blindness, Labour has decided to pat themselves on the back for their lacklustre performance.
“The Welsh Conservatives will not rest until the Welsh NHS has the investment it needs to see the eye care backlog cleared and a long-overdue modernisation of our patient record and referral system to cut waits.”
The motion debated today reads:
To propose that the Senedd:
- Notes:
- concerns raised by RNIB Cymru that around 80,000 people who are the highest risk of irreversible sight loss are waiting beyond their target date for an appointment;
- that in April 2024, there were over 104,000 patient pathways in Wales waiting for an ophthalmology appointment; and
- that the Royal College of Ophthalmologists estimates that demand for eye care services in Wales is expected to increase by 40% over the next 20 years.
- Regrets that:
a) the biggest increase in the number of patient pathways waiting over a year was in ophthalmology;
b) the ophthalmic workforce has seen a 2% drop in its workforce alongside a 56% increase in referrals in the past decade; and
c) the electronic patient record and referral system, first launched in 2021, is still not operational across Wales.
3) Calls on the Welsh Government to:
a) accept the recommendations of the National Clinical Strategy for Ophthalmology and commit to making the investment necessary to prevent the wholesale collapse of eye care services across Wales;
b) set out targets and deadlines for improving waiting list backlogs, ensuring patients waiting receive communication about their clinical risk; and
c) publish a timetable for the development and rollout of the electronic patient record and referral system.
