Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Eye Health

Tuesday 19 July 2022 · 1 question

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Key points

  • Marsha de Cordova asked the Minister whether England needs a national eye care strategy with targets to reduce avoidable sight loss.
  • The Minister responded that commissioning should be locally led due to the size and diversity of England, thus there are no current plans for a national eye health strategy.
  • The Minister noted that NHS England has appointed its first-ever national clinical director for eye health.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Marsha de Cordova Lab Battersea
NHS
Context

Currently there is no overarching strategy in England to govern eye care, despite fifty per cent of all sight loss being avoidable. A strategy could improve the quality of life for people who are blind or partially sighted and address health inequalities.

Question

Does the Minister therefore agree that England needs its own national eye care strategy, which would include targets for the reduction of avoidable sight loss?

Answer from James Morris

Given the size of England and the diversity of the health needs of different communities, we believe that commissioning should be locally led, so there are no current plans for a national eye health strategy. However, I am delighted that NHS England has appointed the first-ever national clinical director for eye care, Louisa Wickham, who will want to set priorities in this area.

Not addressed: The specific ask about a national eye care strategy was deflected by highlighting local commissioning and mentioning an existing appointee without directly addressing the need for a strategy or committing to targets.

How: Local Commissioning, Mentioning Appointee

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