Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
1683. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Health if funding will be provided for the development of the community model for eye care, which covers cataract assessment, paediatric and macular disease. [38022/23]
View answerThe Community Ophthalmic Services Scheme (COSS) is a national fee-per-item scheme which was introduced in 1979. Under the COSS, medical card holders aged over 16 years can be seen by ophthalmologists, community ophthalmic physicians, optometrists or dispensing opticians.
Eligible patients can receive an eye examination and be provided with prescribed optical appliances in accordance with a national schedule of approved optical appliances.
The Health Professionals (Reduction of Payments to Ophthalmologists, Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians) Regulations 2013 (SI 274 of 2013) sets the fees for optometrists and dispensing opticians under the Community Optometric Services, Community Spectacle Dispensing Services and Health Amendment Act Card Schemes.
I am committed to increasing the fees payable to contractors for a standard eye examination under the COSS. This is a priority for my Department, and work with stakeholders is ongoing to implement this change in 2023.
In addition to this, the HSE Primary Care Eye Services Review Group Report, published in June 2017, highlighted the limitations of the current model of service delivery and set out the way forward for a significant amount of eye services to be delivered in a primary care setting. The Report estimated that 60% of existing outpatient activity could be moved to primary care thus enabling hospital services to focus on patients who require more specialist diagnostics or treatments.
The National Clinical Programme for Ophthalmology has developed a model of care which details how the realignment of eye services from the acute hospitals to the community will be undertaken. Included in current priorities is transferring the care of children aged 8+ years to the care of local private optometrists.
A project team with a wide-ranging membership was established in late 2019 / early 2020 to progress this initiative. The work of the team was paused due to the requirement to focus resources on the COVID 19 pandemic. However, the project team has been reconvened and is progressing matters in relation to this initiative.
While preparations in respect of Budget 2024 are ongoing, any health measures introduced will be in the context of the implementation of the health commitments in the Programme for Government and the funding available to progress healthcare priorities.
