Ophthalmic Services
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to support the (a) training and (b) recruitment of optometrists in underserved areas.
Answered by Karin Smyth
NHS England provides an annual grant for supervisors of optometry trainees. This payment is an essential element of ensuring that adequate training provision is available for new optometrists.
Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning primary and secondary eye care services and receive an annual allocation of funding to secure services to meet the needs of their local population. Any decisions about the recruitment of optometrists are a matter for individual employers, to ensure they have the right number of staff in place, with the right skill mix, to deliver safe and effective care.
We will publish a refreshed workforce plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade and treat patients on time again.
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