Labour will use high street opticians to cut NHS waiting lists, as findings show patients are going blind as they wait
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Labour will use high street opticians like Specsavers to cut NHS
waiting lists, as it's revealed patients are losing their eyesight
while they wait YEARS for appointments. The party will strike a
deal with opticians to send NHS patients to high street opticians
for routine checks and scans, to cut waits and free up hospital
specialists to do more complex procedures. Putting high street
opticians to work on cutting waiting lists is one way in which
Labour will use spare...Request free
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Labour will use high street opticians like Specsavers to cut NHS waiting lists, as it's revealed patients are losing their eyesight while they wait YEARS for appointments. The party will strike a deal with opticians to send NHS patients to high street opticians for routine checks and scans, to cut waits and free up hospital specialists to do more complex procedures. Putting high street opticians to work on cutting waiting lists is one way in which Labour will use spare capacity in the private sector to get patients seen faster. New figures from the NHS reveal that patients are waiting up to FIVE YEARS for appointments, scans, or treatment for their eyes. NHS delays are now so long that patients are losing their eyesight while they wait. Research from the Association of Optometrists last year found 551 patients have suffered sight lose due to delayed appointments. Freedom of Information requests reveal a patient at Whittington Health NHS Trust in London waited five years for eye care, while a patient at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust waited just shy of five years, and another at Mid and South Essex Trust waited four years. There are currently 613,000 patients on NHS waiting lists for eye care, 15,000 of whom have been waiting more than a year. The public now face overall NHS waiting lists of 7.5 million, 600,000 longer than when Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister. Labour is warning that another five years of the Conservatives will see waiting lists hit 10 million. Labour's plan to repeat the success of the last Labour government and cut NHS waiting lists includes:
Wes Streeting, Shadow Health Secretary, said: “Thousands of patients have been waiting more than a year for eye care, putting their sight at risk. “High street opticians have the kit and staff to do basic checks and scans. Labour will partner with them to get patients the treatment they need. “This is just one way Labour will reform the NHS and use spare capacity in the private sector to beat the Tory backlog and cut NHS waiting lists.”
Giles Edmonds, Clinical Services Director,
Specsavers, said: “As a leading provider of NHS Primary Care Ophthalmic services, we welcome the Labour Party's plan to make greater use of high street optometry services to cut waiting lists and provide more accessible and convenient care for patients, and stand ready to partner with NHS hospital eye services to improve patient care” Ends Notes
A survey by the Association of Optometrists collected testimonies from patients, who said: “My vision deteriorated to such an extent that I went around armed with three different magnifying glasses. I really worried that the achievements of the previous years in maintaining my sight would be lost permanently” “I've had no communication from the NHS, since my optician found the hole, and referred me four months ago. The success window is six months. I'm now faced with paying £7.5k privately, which means going into debt” “[I am] so worried that I have to constantly phone to get an appointment ie a cancellation, as no appointments have been sent out for over two years” “It's so scary when you know that getting rapid treatment is essential to prevent scarring and permanent sight loss, yet when you ring for an appointment, you're told the next available date is months in the future. You feel totally helpless”.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-67914461
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