In Wales, over 80,000 people are at the highest risk of irreversible sight loss, with eye care accounting for 1 in every 8 patients on a Welsh NHS list.
Yet over the past decade, referrals to ophthalmic services have increased by over 50%, but their workforce has stayed the same.
In the Senedd today, the Welsh Conservatives are bringing forward a Senedd motion calling on the Welsh Government to take urgent action to prevent irreversible sight loss, and adopt the recommendations of the National Clinical Strategy for Ophthalmology.
Commenting ahead of the debate, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Health, Sam Rowlands MS, said:
“Eye care is the single busiest outpatient speciality in the Welsh NHS, accounting for 1 in every 8 patients on an NHS waiting list.
“Regretfully, over 80,000 people in Wales are at the highest risk of irreversible sight loss as they’re simply waiting too long for appointments.
“In the Senedd today, I look forward to bringing forward our Welsh Conservative debate calling on the Welsh Government to take urgent action to prevent irreversible sight loss.”
Also commenting, RNIB Cymru’s External Affairs Manager, Nathan Owen, said:
“Over 80,000 eye care patients at the highest risk of irreversible sight loss are waiting too long for their appointments. Sadly, for many who do lose some, or all, of their sight, this could have been avoided if they were seen on time.
“The amount of people now at risk of losing their sight would fill the Principality Stadium to capacity.”
“This is why RNIB Cymru is calling on Welsh Government to listen to healthcare professionals and commit to real change in our eye care services now. Because each month that passes without a commitment to improve eye care sees hundreds of people added to waiting lists and the hope of tackling this crisis slips further out of reach. We want a Wales where anyone whose sight could be saved with timely treatment has access to the care they need, when they need it.”
The motion which will be 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.
