Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to promote patient choice with respect to eye treatment.

Eye (ophthalmic) treatment is largely delivered in secondary care with some services also offered in the community. Patient choice applies to ophthalmic treatment services as it does to any other NHS service commissioned by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). Unless specified exclusions apply this means for secondary care that upon referral patients must be offered a choice of any clinically appropriate health service provider, with whom the NHS has a contract for the service required.

NHS England are currently working with CCGs, general practitioners, patients and the public to improve patient choice in respect of all secondary care services, including ophthalmic services, by 2020. The aim is to increase awareness, uptake and operation of patient choice across the NHS, leading to improvements in patient outcomes and experience.