Leading sight loss charity RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) and Roche UK have today launched a new eye health audit tool – Eye Level to showcase data to policy makers and the eye health community to help improve the delivery of local eye health services.
Ophthalmology is the busiest outpatient specialty in the NHS and accounts for 10 per cent of the NHS elective care backlog [1]. There are 627,140 people on ophthalmology waiting lists in England as of March 2023, including over 21,407 who have been waiting a year or more [2]. The impact of eye conditions is also felt across wider society. Eye conditions are estimated to cost the UK economy £25 billion annually [3].
Eye Level, developed in collaboration with RNIB and funded and commissioned by Roche Products Ltd, presents data on eye care services in England looking at how patients are prioritised, what services they have access to, how services are delivered and patient outcomes.
Eye Level, which is free to access, benchmarks eye health outcomes, patient experiences, and access to treatments sub-nationally, highlighting variation across different regions of England.
Phil Ambler, RNIB’s England Country Director said: “Eye Level is a valuable tool to support systems planning for commissioners and policymakers across the eye health community, particularly in high and low-performing areas, as well as acting as a repository to track performance over time.
“Eye Level is designed to support improvements to the provision of local eye health services for patients with waiting times being reduced and to influence better patient outcomes with improved services being offered.”
James Lorigan, Eye Care Commissioning Lead, Pathway Innovation Programme, NHS England added: “As well as the enormous personal cost to the individuals affected by sight loss, there is a significant cost to health and social care services from sight loss and the management of sight threatening conditions. Eye Level gives Integrated Care Systems and their partners the information on unmet need as well as their performance relative to their neighbours to design services that better meet the need of their patients. I would encourage all commissioners to make use of Eye Level.”
Thom Renwick, Ophthalmology Lead, Roche Products Ltd also commented: “Eye Level presents data at both national and sub-national levels and will be a key driver in supporting successful policy change within national and local eye health services. It is able to identify areas for improvement and share best practice helping to transform eye care services in England.”
To see the Eye Level tool in practice and to understand the delivery of local eye health services to ensure better outcomes for patients living with or at risk of sight loss, please visit www.eyeleveldata.uk.
References
- https://www.england.nhs.uk/2023/05/new-nhs-measures-to-improve-eye-care-and-cut-waiting-times/ [Last accessed June 2023]
- https://uat.www.eyeleveldata.uk/restricted - password: sight-tool-2023-chart [Last accessed June 2023]
- https://www.fightforsight.org.uk/news-and-articles/articles/news/report-reveals-sight-loss-causes-lowest-quality-of-life-score/#:~:text=Today%2C%20sight%20loss%20costs%20the,billion%20a%20year%20by%202050. [Last accessed June 2023]
