Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure commercial eye care providers refer patients for NHS cataract surgery without delay.

The choice of lens supplied to a patient is a matter for the optical professional and patient, taking account of the individual's clinical needs and preferences. General Optical Council standards require optical professionals to recommend appliances that are clinically justified, in the patient’s best interest, and to provide patients with information about all the relevant options in a way they can understand, to support informed decision making.

Patients who are assessed as requiring cataract surgery should be referred in accordance with relevant clinical pathways and local commissioning arrangements. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence cataract guideline, reference code NG77, is clear that access to cataract surgery should be based on clinical need and the impact of cataracts on a person's daily life. The guideline can be found at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng77