NDM8679 Welsh Conservatives Debate - Ophthalmology services

NDM8679 Darren Millar (Clwyd West)

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Notes:

a) concerns raised by RNIB Cymru that around 80,000 people who are the highest risk of irreversible sight loss are waiting beyond their target date for an appointment;

b) that in April 2024, there were over 104,000 patient pathways in Wales waiting for an ophthalmology appointment; and

c) that the Royal College of Ophthalmologists estimates that demand for eye-care services in Wales is expected to increase by 40 per cent over the next 20 years.

2. Regrets that:

a) the biggest increase in the number of patient pathways waiting over a year was in ophthalmology;

b) the ophthalmic workforce has seen a 2 per cent drop in its workforce alongside a 56 per cent increase in referrals in the past decade; and

c) the electronic patient record and referral system, first launched in 2021, is still not operational across Wales.

3. Calls on the Welsh Government to:

a) accept the recommendations of the National Clinical Strategy for Ophthalmology and commit to making the investment necessary to prevent the wholesale collapse of eye-care services across Wales;

b) set out targets and deadlines for improving waiting-list backlogs, ensuring patients waiting receive communication about their clinical risk; and

c) publish a timetable for the development and rollout of the electronic patient record and referral system.

The following amendment was tabled:

Amendment 1 Jane Hutt (Vale of Glamorgan)

Delete all and replace with:

To propose that the Senedd:

1. Acknowledges ophthalmology waiting times are not where the Welsh Government or the public wants them to be.

2. Notes the number of ophthalmology pathways waiting more than two years at the end of July 2024 was 44 per cent lower than at the peak in March 2022.

3. Recognises the work being undertaken by the NHS Executive and the ophthalmology clinical network to reform pathways for ophthalmology across primary and secondary care.

4. Welcomes the reforms to optometry, which mean community optometrists are now able to diagnose, treat, and manage more people in primary care, providing faster and easier access.