Public feedback leads to commitment to faster eye care
The Government has announced investment that could help millions get faster eye care following our 2025 research ”A strain on sight”.
This investment will help digitise referrals from optometrists working on the high street into NHS hospital eye services. Optometrists will also be able to refer patients directly and access relevant patient records, helping to support faster and more accurate decisions.
This comes after we set out what people told us about waiting for specialist eye care and our recommendations for change. People showed strong support for high street optometrists playing a greater role in assessing, referring, and managing eye conditions, without always needing a GP appointment first.
How did feedback lead to change?
Many people told us they experienced barriers to specialist care, including needing multiple appointments to get a referral, long waiting lists, and worsening vision while waiting. The impact was significant, affecting people’s ability to work, carry out daily tasks, and stay well.
Based on what we heard, we called for changes to how eye care is delivered. In particular, we recommended:
- Making greater use of optometrists to help reduce waiting times
- Enabling more direct referral pathways into specialist services
- Expanding community-based care to reduce pressure on hospitals
- Improving the overall efficiency of how people move through the system
The Government announced its investment of £20 million into digitised referrals after we published our report and met with policymakers about our findings.
Expanding the role of community optometry aligns with what people told us they wanted: more accessible care, delivered closer to home, and less reliance on hospital services where it is not necessary.
The announcement also reflects a broader shift led by the 10 Year Health Plan towards delivering more care closer to home, with community optometry playing a more central role.
What are we doing next?
Eye care is one of the busiest areas of the NHS and demand is expected to grow. Ensuring services work well for patients even as this happens will remain essential.
The progress above is positive, but our research shows that more needs to be done. People told us they often felt unsupported while waiting for care, with limited communication and little information about what to expect. Improving support for people on waiting lists remains an important area for action.
We’ll keep sharing people’s experiences of eye care services and highlight where care can improve further. By listening to people and feeding their experiences back into decision-making, we can help ensure that changes to services continue to reflect what matters most to patients.
