Open Letter Sent to NHS Over Commissioning of Special Needs Eye Care Service
28 February 2023
The Clinical Council for Eye Health Commissioning has written to NHS England urging them to commission a School Eye Care Service for children with special needs.
Writing within the scope of their Memorandum of Understanding with NHS England, the Clinical Council called for the commissioning of a School Eye Care Service for children with special needs which:
- Allows for appropriate adjustments to be made to facilitate the delivery of care in an environment best suited for each individual child
- A service which ensures equity of access to care whatever the needs of an individual child
- Ensures that children are not forced to be seen, unnecessary for their care needs, by the Hospital Eye Service in a secondary care setting
Co-signed by LOCSU’s Clinical Director Zoe Richmond in her role as Vice Chair of the Clinical Council for Eye Health, Zoe said,
“On behalf of council we’ve offered support to inform the service evaluation and progress in commissioning an appropriate service for these children with special needs.”
The letter went to the senior leadership team for Primary care commissioning as well as the national clinical directors for both eye care and learning disability and autism.