09 May 2025

FODO member update - 9 May

This week:

• FODO updates
• Minister responds to calls for an eye care plan
• MHRA approves first treatment for TED
• Moorfields joins private sector to develop AI-driven eyecare
• Public Health Outcomes Framework: May 2025 data update
• At a glance
• Policy news

FODO updates

The FODO Group held its AGM on 7 May, at which the 2024 annual report and statement of accounts were unanimously approved.

At the AGM, FODO Group also announced a new online member magazine - Clarity, which is now live.

The magazine will offer users news, features and opinions to reflect the broad range of FODO Group membership, with members able to read the latest information on eye care, hearing care, or both.

Please share this link with colleagues. If you have any feedback or suggestions on how we can add to or improve the new site, please email [email protected]. 

Minister responds to calls for an eye care plan

In a parliamentary debate on 6 May, Marsha De Cordova MP asked the minister for care about the steps he was taking to improve eye healthcare through the 10-year health plan.

Stephen Kinnock, minister for care, agreed that early diagnosis and support in eye care was "crucial" and that the "interface between the high street and secondary care is a vital part of that".

When challenged on why MECS was not commissioned in all NHS regions, he responded that services like MECS were "clearly extremely important, and the early intervention side of eye care is particularly important". He committed to looking into gaps in the commissioning of MECS.

Mr Kinnock added that his government was "absolutely committed to single point of access technology, which we believe can be game-changing technology and is a vital part of our shift from analogue to digital".

He also said the government was committed to having a joined-up strategy at the heart of the forthcoming 10-year plan. However, it remains unclear whether the NHS plan will include an explicit reference to eye care.

Later in the debate, Peter Prinsley MP flagged concerns raised by the president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists about the "widespread outsourcing of NHS cataract surgery to private, for-profit providers". The minister responded that his government felt the independent sector had an essential role in tackling waiting lists but would "not tolerate any overpriced or sub-par care" or "any distortion of patient choice".  He added that the recently published partnership agreement between NHS England and the Independent Healthcare Provider Network would help address such risks. 

MHRA approves first treatment for TED

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved teprotumumab (Tepezza), the first UK licensed medicine for adult patients with moderate to severe Thyroid Eye Disease (TED). 

A healthcare professional administers Tepezza via an intravenous drip directly into a vein. In a clinical trial, the therapy resulted in a reduction in eye protrusion and double vision.  

Moorfields joins private sector to develop AI-driven eyecare

Moorfields Eye Hospital, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology (IoO) and Topcon Healthcare have joined to form Cascader Limited.

In a press statement, Moorfields notes that the new London-based company will use AI to detect and manage eye diseases. It also aims to advance knowledge in oculomics, which uses advanced retinal imaging to understand systemic health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration and dementia. 

Public Health Outcomes Framework: May 2025 data update

The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has published the Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) data update for May 2025. 

An interactive tool presents the data, allowing you to view it in a user-friendly format. Eye care indicators include:

• E12a - Preventable sight loss: AMD
• E12b - Preventable sight loss: glaucoma
• E12c - Preventable sight loss: diabetic eye disease
• E12d - Preventable sight loss: sight loss certifications

At a glance

• The Kusuma Trust has awarded Moorfields a £2.5 million grant towards the new centre for advancing eye health.
• OT reports on Richard Stead, former optometrist turned ophthalmologist, who will lead Newmedica's glaucoma service.
• Brad Parkes, the new BCLA chief executive, said he is committed to delivering the very best contact lens and anterior eye care that the global public deserves.
• World Retinoblastoma Awareness Week is on 11-17 May. You can find information on how to help raise awareness or fundraise on CHECT's website.
• The Times follows up on the risk drivers with poor vision pose, noting a six-year high in car accidents caused by poor eyesight.

Policy updates

• Healthwatch has set out what people want from the 10 Year NHS Plan. It confirmed that people support the government's three big shifts for the NHS in England - moving more care from hospitals to communities, shifting from an analogue to a digital NHS, and focusing on preventing sickness. Healthwatch adds that "people's needs, preferences, and choices must underpin these shifts. It includes where to be treated and options for digital and offline communications and services from NHS teams." Read more.
• The latest Welsh ophthalmology data shows that 161,158 patient pathways were assessed in March as health risk factor R1, waiting for an outpatient appointment. 49.9% of these patient pathways were waiting within their target date or 25% beyond.
• The HSJ reports that there are plans to "radically" reduce ICB functions. The HSJ shares what appears to be an official NHS document titled Model Integrated Care Board - Blueprint v1.0. While the HSJ article reports that responsibility for some primary care service might shift to "neighbourhood and place-based partnerships", the document itself only refers to NHS ophthalmic services (including GOS) once under "commissioning end-to-end pathways". It makes clear that this can be "delivered within existing legislation" and "will require investment in new capabilities over time".