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Preventable Sight Loss

I beg to move,

That this House has considered preventable sight loss.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Mark. I would like to begin this debate by asking Members who have good eye health to consider these questions. How would you feel if you lost your sight? How would it affect your life and your ability to connect with family and friends or earn a living, travel independently, enjoy the place you live in, the hobbies you have or visit new places? If you were to lose your sight, how would it make you feel to subsequently find out that it actually could have been saved?

Sadly, hundreds of our constituents are going through this very experience. In England, over 600,000 patients are currently on NHS waiting lists to begin treatment for ophthalmology—the branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the eye. A survey by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists from this year shows that only 25% of NHS ophthalmology departments feel able to meet patient need, and 70% of departments are more concerned about out-patient backlogs compared with 12 months ago. These are incredibly alarming statistics. Alarming, too, is the fact that it was reported last year that, in 551 confirmed instances, patients had lost their sight as a result of delayed appointments since 2019.

Alongside the problems with ophthalmology in the NHS, we have seen the growth of the independent or private sector. I ask Members to consider the impact that the increased use of private sector provision is having on eye care. Independent sector providers now deliver almost 60% of NHS-funded cataract procedures. That has more than doubled from around 25% before the coronavirus pandemic. Although it has helped to bring down cataract waiting lists, the Royal College of Ophthalmology has found that 67% of NHS ophthalmology departments reported that the impact of independent sector providers on patient care in their area is negative. Let us reflect on that: over two thirds of ophthalmology departments in the NHS believe that the impact of independent sector providers on patient care is negative. It is important that we understand why.

The three aspects those departments have said they are most worried about are training opportunities for junior doctors, funding for the NHS ophthalmology department in which they work, and the available workforce. They believe that these will hamper the long-term ability of their departments to deliver sight-saving care for patients. Every Member of this House should be concerned about that.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People has said that the role of the independent sector has been associated with significant challenges that pose an increasing risk to the sustainability of comprehensive eye care services in the NHS. I believe that the impact on many of our constituents could be, and is likely to be, devastating.