Summary
GM’s Primary Eyecare Services has been shortlisted in the HSJ Awards 2024, for Primary and Community Care Provider of the Year.
Greater Manchester’s lead provider of optometry has been shortlisted for a Health Service Journal (HSJ) Award.
Primary Eyecare Services works with NHS Greater Manchester to provide a range of optometry services, working with around 340 community optometry practices in the city-region.
Together, they have established the GM Community Urgent Eyecare Service (CUES) and supported thousands of patients to receive assessment, treatment or referral for sudden onset eye problems such as flashes, floaters, vision loss or minor eye injuries.
By offering a telephone consultation, followed by a face-to-face appointment if needed, CUES enables people to get the care and support they need closer to home, relieving pressure on general practice and emergency departments.
The CUES service features in the GM Primary Care Blueprint as an example of how primary care is tackling demand, access and capacity issues.
Primary Eyecare Services, which is a not-for-profit company, also supports 30 Integrated Care Boards across the country at scale.
It is this innovative ‘at scale’ work that has secured it a place in the final of the HSJ Awards 2024 on Thursday, 21 November.
The company works with more than 2,500 optometry practices across the country to deliver minor and urgent eye care services, cataract and glaucoma pathways, children’s services, as well as reducing health inequalities such as learning disabilities and visual impairment.
Entitled ‘Optometry First @ Scale’, their entry features in the ‘Primary and Community Care Provider of the Year’ category and focuses on the group of optometry services which help patients avoid needing to go to their GP practice, A&E and hospital eye services – like the GM CUES offer.
Dharmesh Patel, Chief Executive of Primary Eyecare Services and Chair of Greater Manchester Optometry Provider Board, said: “It almost feels like we have won already because, by being shortlisted, we’ve been able to help shine a spotlight on collaborative activities and the effect they are having.
“Not only are we supporting patients, and avoiding large volumes of referrals into hospitals, we are also supporting the sector financially in terms of the value we bring to optometry by working at scale.”
