Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what contribution his Department plans to make to the Royal College of Ophthalmologists' consultation on raising standards for refractive surgery.

Refractive eye surgery is regulated through providers being registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and doctors carrying out the surgery must be registered with the General Medical Council.

Once the Royal College of Ophthalmologists refractive surgery standards are published, the General Medical Council would expect a doctor to be aware of them. When carrying out inspections and assessments of services, the CQC would also expect a provider to be following best practice guidance, which would include the standards published by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.

These processes are well established and so the Department would not have a direct role in assisting in the implementation of the refractive surgery standards. However, the Department will maintain an interest in the consultation and the work of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in this area.