Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to increase support for patients' mental health after a sight loss diagnosis.

We recognise the value of emotional support for those facing sight loss, which can lead to anxiety, social isolation, and depression. NHS England has published a patient support toolkit for eye care commissioners and providers. The toolkit aims to ensure patients with ophthalmic conditions or sight loss are supported throughout their eye care journey.

We are expanding and transforming mental health services within the National Health Service in England, backed by additional funding of £2.3 billion a year by March 2024. This will allow an extra two million people, including those with sight loss, to get the mental health support that they need. Patients can be referred into NHS Talking Therapies by their general practitioner or can self-refer directly.

To further strengthen the support available to patients, the Royal National Institute of Blind People has been working with stakeholders, including NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Eye Care, to develop a patient support pathway for health and social care professionals to help standardise the support that should be available to patients through their eye care journey.