Pádraig O'Sullivan
Question:717. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Health if his Department will consider establishing a national eye health strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19308/24]
View answerTuesday, 30 April 2024
Questions (717)
Written answers
Sight testing, eye examinations and optical appliances are provided to medical card holders by ophthalmologists, optometrists and dispensing opticians through the Community Ophthalmic Services Schemes (COSS). Patients may access these services following a referral by a healthcare professional such as their general practitioner.
All children, including those not covered by a medical card, receive a vision screen while in national school from a Public Health Nurse. The Health Service Executive (HSE) provides optical services free of charge to pre-school children and national school children referred from child health service and school health service examinations who are discovered to have sight problems. These children are referred to the appropriate consultant for treatment. In such circumstances, these services will continue to be provided until the child has reached the age of 16.
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.
The HSE is currently in the process of implementing multidisciplinary Integrated Eye Care Teams. These teams facilitate assessment, diagnoses, management and treatment and in some cases pre-op/post-op care enabling most patients to be seen in their own locality. Where necessary, patients can be referred onwards to acute Ophthalmology services to receive the necessary specialist input.
Integrated Eye Care Teams continue to be rolled out nationally. To date, teams have been established in 6 of the 9 CHOs, namely; CHO 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, and 9. Waiting lists have been substantially reduced in each of these areas as a result. Work is underway to establish teams in the remaining CHOs as well as further expanding the teams in the existing CHOs.