Senedd debates crisis in eye care

Senedd members narrowly rejected Conservative calls for action on eye care amid warnings of a “tidal wave of blindness” about to hit Wales.

Sam Rowlands said more than 80,000 people are at the highest risk of irreversible sight loss, with eye care accounting for one in every eight patients on waiting lists in Wales.

The Conservatives’ shadow health secretary told the Senedd the number of ophthalmology patients waiting beyond their target date has more than doubled in five years.

Mr Rowlands warned demand for eye care services is set to rise by as much as 40% in the next 20 years, piling more pressure on services already creaking under immense strain.

He said about 69,000 people in Wales have a form of diabetic retinopathy, with a consultant in Swansea warning: “We’re filling up clinics faster than we can staff them.”

‘Crisis point’

Leading a Tory debate, Mr Rowlands stressed that sight loss is often treatable but people are losing their sight because they are waiting too long.

The ex-Conwy council leader said: “This situation is at a crisis point – let's make no mistake.”

Mr Rowlands, who represents North Wales, urged the Welsh Government to make the investment needed to prevent the collapse of eye care services.

His motion called on Welsh ministers to set targets for clearing waiting-list backlogs and accept the recommendations of the national clinical strategy for ophthalmology.

Mr Rowlands suggested patients in Wales should be able to get surgery done in England “where they would be seen months, or, let’s be honest, even years quicker”.

But he criticised Labour for “reeling back” from a commitment, made at the party’s annual conference in September, to cross-border NHS cooperation to tackle waiting lists.

‘Pernicious paradox’

Russell George, the Tory chair of the Senedd’s health committee, said: “There is capacity in Shropshire … but that cannot be used. Why? Because NHS Wales is not prepared to pay.”

Mabon ap Gwynfor agreed services are on the brink, with the Royal College of Ophthalmology describing the new strategy as the last chance.  

“That the current president has warned that there is a 'tidal wave of blindness' facing us underlines this urgency,” he told the debating chamber or Siambr.

Plaid Cymru’s shadow health secretary described the situation in north Wales as particularly fragile, with 42,809 people waiting – higher than anywhere else in the country.

Mr ap Gwynfor, who represents Dwyfor Meirionnydd, warned of the “same old pernicious paradox” of demand for services surging as the capacity of the workforce shrinks.

‘Human tragedy’

Wrexham Senedd member Lesley Griffiths called for investment in digital technology, cautioning that ophthalmology has been behind the curve.

The former health minister said: “Whilst waiting times for surgery are reducing … they are not where everyone wants them to be.”

James Evans, who represents Brecon and Radnorshire, warned that guide dog services could come under huge pressure, leading to loneliness and social isolation.

His Conservative colleague Gareth Davies said: “It's frankly unacceptable that in a developed nation an elderly woman and sole carer of her terminally ill partner should have to endure over two years of misery, living with cataracts, before she receives treatment.

“It is, quite simply, an affront to human dignity, and it must be addressed as a priority.”

Altaf Hussain, a fellow Tory, said: “If we set aside the human cost – indeed, the human tragedy – and look at this in a purely economic light, tackling ophthalmology waiting times and preventing irreversible sight loss will help to reduce the strain on public finances.”

‘Still too long’

Responding for the Welsh Government, Jeremy Miles told Senedd members the number of people waiting more than two years has fallen by 44% from a peak in March 2022.

Wales’ health secretary, who was appointed in September, said: “For too many people who are referred to hospital, the waiting times are still too long. We must go further and quicker.”

He pointed out that Wales is the only UK nation to have targets for hospital-based eye care to prioritise those facing the greatest risk of sight loss.

Mr Miles said the Welsh Government has committed an extra £30m a year to move more eye care out of hospitals into optometry services in the community.

The motion was narrowly defeated, 22-23, following the debate on October 2, with Plaid Cymru joining the Conservatives and Labour voting against.

The Welsh Government’s “delete-all” amendment was agreed by the same margin reversed.

Commenting after the debate, Mr George said:

“Eye care is the single busiest outpatient speciality in the Welsh NHS, accounting for 1 in every 8 patients on an NHS waiting list.

“Regretfully, the biggest increase in the number of patients waiting over a year was in ophthalmology.

“In the Senedd this week, as Welsh Conservative we put forward a factual motion and made recommendations to the Government. Sadly, the Welsh Government did not support our calls.”