Pressures in the eye care sector addressed at Royal College of Ophthalmologists Annual Congress

The Eyes Have It (TEHI) partnership took part in a panel at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists’ (RCOphth) Annual Congress on Tuesday 23 May.

TEHI member Thom Renwick, therapy area lead for ophthalmology at Roche, took part in the panel, which also included Professor Ben Burton, president-elect of RCOphth, and the national clinical director for eye care for NHS England, Louisa Wickham.

TEHI is calling for action from parliamentarians and policy makers to prevent avoidable sight loss.

The group is made up of representatives from the AOP, Roche, the Macular Society, Fight for Sight, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists and the Royal National Institute of Blind People. The AOP’s policy director, Carolyn Ruston, who attended the congress, is part of TEHI.

The panel covered subjects including the causes of current pressures in the eye care sector, the role of independent sector eye care providers and how commissioning models can support effective work in this area, how ready the system is for change, and the need to balance choice with providing the best care for everyone.