Primary Eyecare Services makes HSJ Awards shortlist

Primary Eyecare Services has been shortlisted for the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards 2024 in the category of NHS Primary and Community Care Provider of the Year.

The HSJ Awards recognise achievements across healthcare services in the UK.

Entries to the awards are encouraged from teams within NHS trusts, integrated care boards (ICBs) and integrated care partnerships, public health and social care teams from local councils, central healthcare bodies, and public sector associations.

Primary Eyecare Services has been named as a finalist in the category of NHS Primary and Community Care Provider of the Year for its submission titled: Optometry First @ Scale – Enhanced NHS Primary and Community Eye Care.

Discussing the reasons behind the award submission with OT, Dharmesh Patel, CEO of Primary Eyecare Services, highlighted that eye care is often not recognised in awards on a national level, explaining: “This was first and foremost an opportunity to raise the profile of eye care and the value optometry brings.”

“From a Primary Eyecare Services perspective, we feel we have played a role alongside stakeholders and partners in achieving that. That is why we wanted to try and raise the profile of optometry and the work we do to support that along with partners,” he said.

In preparing a submission for the awards, the team at the not-for-profit optometry organisation focused on its collaborative work with practices, hospitals, and local optical committees in the delivery of primary community eye care services.

“We felt that Optometry First @ Scale epitomised our approach to everything we are doing: optometry services as much as possible, first where possible, and at scale,” Patel shared.

He continued: “We think that Optometry First encompasses all of the services that practices are involved in beyond the General Ophthalmic Services (GOS) sight test. From those services that reduce referrals into secondary care, to the pathways where patients are taken out of hospital for ongoing care, or in place of activity taking place in hospital.”

“On the basis that minor and urgent eye care makes up the biggest category of services and are genuinely Optometry First with patients presenting directly to practices for their eye care, the title felt apt” he added.

Primary Eyecare Services works with more than 2500 optometry practices to deliver services in local communities.

The organisation works across 30 ICB areas in England – a figure that has risen from 29 since the award submission process.

As a key aspect of the awards submission, Primary Eyecare Services sought to highlight the scale of the impact community eye care services are having for patients.

In 2023–2024, services commissioned and run through Primary Eyecare Services supported 720,000 patients.

“If I go back all those years ago when there were only a handful of locally commissioned services, we’ve really moved on and that scale is quite fundamental,” Patel reflected.

“Not only are we supporting those patients, and avoiding large volumes of referrals into hospitals, this is also supporting the sector financially in terms of the value it brings into optometry,” he added.

Data suggests that 48% of the population in England could access a minor and urgent eye care service commissioned through Primary Eyecare Services. Patient satisfaction for these services is high at 98%.

Patel highlighted collaborations with local optical committees, local hospitals, and trusts, as well as in evaluation and research. For instance, Primary Eyecare Services worked with Manchester Royal Eye Hospital on independent research into CUES, which demonstrated the impact of the service.

Primary Eyecare Services is also celebrating its collaborations with third sector organisations, such as its work with SeeAbility on the Easy Eye Care Pathway, and with RNIB on the Eye Care Support Pathway.

Ultimately, Patel said: “We shouldn’t forget that the collaborative efforts and values-driven approach to the work we do is both internal, amongst our growing team inside Primary Eyecare Services, but also with the thousands of people working in those 2500 practices, whether front of house staff or the clinicians delivering care. It’s collaboration all the way through.”

The winners of the HSJ Awards 2024 will be revealed at a ceremony on 21 November.

Until then, Primary Eyecare Services is celebrating making the shortlist.

Patel commented: “From my perspective, it almost feels like we have won already because, by being shortlisted, we’ve been able to help shine a spotlight on these activities and the effect they are having. Those are already some great positives from our perspective.”