{"id":1786,"date":"2026-04-03T10:33:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T09:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/?p=1786"},"modified":"2026-04-03T10:33:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T09:33:41","slug":"latest-news-from-hampshire-loc-03-april-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/2026\/04\/03\/latest-news-from-hampshire-loc-03-april-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Latest News from Hampshire LOC 03 April 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>Post-Op Cataract Pathway<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>As part of our ongoing outpatient optimisation programme Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ICB is implementing a change to the post-operative pathway for cataract patients, in line with NHS England and GIRFT best practice guidance. \u00a0This change takes effect from 1<sup>st<\/sup>\u00a0April 2026, by extending the scope of the already embedded Single Point of Access for routine cataracts referrals so that this now includes the post operative follow up.<\/p>\n<p>From 1<sup>st<\/sup>\u00a0April 2026 post operative follow up activity will be manged through a virtual follow up pathway. Patients will receive their call at 4 weeks post operatively to discuss their ongoing care needs, and any required clinical follow-up will be coordinated directly with the provider that carried out the surgery.<\/p>\n<p>There will be a small percentage of patients who require a face to face follow up due to post op complications or when the patient has had complex surgery. It will be up to the provider delivering the cataract surgery to deliver these follow ups.<\/p>\n<p>Following the virtual follow up patients will be instructed to attend their local optician for the routine post-operative sight test at 4-6 weeks post-surgery. The provider undertaking the cataract surgery is responsible for any complications identified post-operatively. Patients will be given contact details for their providers should complications arise during their discharge process.<\/p>\n<h2>Action Required: Annual Declaration &amp; DSPT &#8211; 2026\/27<\/h2>\n<p>Primary Eyecare Services (PES) has confirmed that practices can now complete the\u00a0Annual Declaration for 2026\/27\u00a0and upload their\u00a0Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT)\u00a0documentation. These requirements apply to\u00a0all practices delivering enhanced services via OPERA.<\/p>\n<p>Annual Declaration \u2013 2026\/27<\/p>\n<p>Practices are required to read and acknowledge the Annual Declaration through their Practice Profile on OPERA.<\/p>\n<ul data-position=\"outside\">\n<li>The declaration must be completed via OPERA<\/li>\n<li>Guidance is available on the Primary Eyecare Services website<\/li>\n<li><strong>Deadline: 31 July 2026<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Failure to complete the Annual Declaration will result in restrictions on providing enhanced services via OPERA.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT)<\/p>\n<p>Practices must also complete the\u00a0<strong>DSPT requirements<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul data-position=\"outside\">\n<li>DSPT\u00a02025\u201326 (Version 8)\u00a0must be completed<\/li>\n<li>If DSPT is completed on\u00a0<strong>QiO after 1 April 2026<\/strong>, it will remain valid until\u00a0<strong>end of June 2027<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>DSPT can be completed via:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul data-position=\"\">\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>The\u00a0<strong>NHS Digital website<\/strong>, or<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.qualityinoptometry.co.uk\/\"><strong>QiO<\/strong><\/a>(select\u00a0<em>DSPT<\/em>\u00a0from the top navigation bar)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Once completed, the DSPT must be\u00a0uploaded to OPERA<\/p>\n<p>A step\u2011by\u2011step\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/d4jq2.r.sp1-brevo.net\/mk\/cl\/f\/sh\/1t6Af4OiGsEag2d3DmqXSlvnpJpSz9\/n8kTXENkqzjt\"><strong>DSPT tutorial and checklist<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is available to support practices and answer common questions.<\/p>\n<p>Key deadline for services:<\/p>\n<ul data-position=\"outside\">\n<li><strong>Annual Declaration and DSPT must be completed by 30 April 2026<\/strong>\u00a0to avoid restrictions.<\/li>\n<li>If either requirement is not met, practices will be\u00a0<strong>restricted from providing enhanced services and making referrals via OPERA<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Need support?<\/p>\n<p>For queries or assistance, practices can contact Primary Eyecare Services at:<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:hello@referral.support\"><strong>hello@referral.support<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Post-Op Cataract Pathway \u00a0As part of our ongoing outpatient optimisation programme Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ICB is implementing a change to the post-operative pathway for cataract patients, in line with NHS England and GIRFT best practice guidance. \u00a0This change takes effect from 1st\u00a0April 2026, by extending the scope of the already embedded Single &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/2026\/04\/03\/latest-news-from-hampshire-loc-03-april-2026\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Latest News from Hampshire LOC 03 April 2026&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1786"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1787,"href":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1786\/revisions\/1787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/hampshire-loc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}