Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase NHS patient choice within the field of ophthalmology.

The Government is committed to giving patients greater choice and control over their care and throughout their elective care pathway, including those referred to ophthalmology services.

Patients have an existing legal right to choose where they go for their first appointment, when referred to consultant-led care as an outpatient. Currently, less than a quarter of patients recall being offered a choice of provider. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the work needed to empower patients with greater choice and control, in order to make informed choices. This includes improving the information available to patients to support their decisions, such as improved waiting time information.

We also published a Partnership Agreement between the National Health Service and the independent sector, which sets out the support needed to drive patient choice, which can include choosing provision from independent providers.