Latest News from Hampshire LOC – 14 February 2025

15 February 2025

Important Announcement on Hampshire Services – PES Update

Dear Colleagues,

We regret to inform you that effective from 1st April 2025, the Integrated Care Board (ICB) has taken the decision to decommission the following Primary Eyecare Services enhanced service contracts in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight:
Enhanced Cataract Referral Service (IOW)
Post-op Cataract Service
Glaucoma Referral Refinement
Glaucoma Enhanced Referral Service
Glaucoma monitoring service
West Hants Enhanced Triage.

The Community Urgent Eyecare Service (CUES) contract (which also expires in March) will be extended for a period of 6 months, during which time the ICB will consider its long terms plans for this service.

We wish to highlight that the decommissioning of these services is not a reflection on the optical practices delivering these services, or Primary Eyecare Services as the contract holder. On the contrary, all services have been running efficiently and effectively throughout, and all have received very positive feedback from patients. This decision has been taken by the ICB in the context of ongoing financial constraints and a desire to invest in other services for ophthalmology.

We are meeting with the ICB to finalise their decommissioning plans next week and will be in touch once we have the information on what dates the services will be required to stop accepting patients. We are also actively working with local trust hospitals to see what could be directly commissioned, and both Primary Eyecare Services and the Local Optical Committee (LOC) will be in regular communication with updates and advice as we know more.

This decision has been made very quickly, with Primary Eyecare Services and LOC only receiving the ICB’s new service specifications last week that confirmed this activity would move to elective care contracts that are unsuitable for a primary care delivery model. Despite the best efforts of Primary Eyecare Services and the LOC, we have been unable dissuade the ICB from its intended course of action.

Thank you for your hard work and cooperation in providing these services. We are disappointed to be unable to continue to provide the high-quality patient care that have made the services so successful.

Primary Eyecare Services

Further to the PES Update on Enhanced Services

Further to the above information which from an LOC point of view is deeply disappointing, we will, once decommissioning arrangements are known, provide what further advice we can to our members.

In time we will also provide further advice on what to do, post 31 March 2025 if requests are received for repeat pressures or NOD data as two examples.

If you have questions in the meantime, please email hello@referral.support and copy in isilk@hampshireloc.org.uk