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<p>Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are responsible for commissioning all secondary
care ophthalmology services and are also able to commission primary care services
(i.e. minor eye services, glaucoma monitoring, referral, refinement and post cataract
assessment) in the community to reduce secondary care demand for services and better
meet identified needs.</p><p>We would expect services to be commissioned in line with
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance where it is available or
best available evidence and for patients to receive treatment, in line with their
clinical priority, without any undue delay at any stage of their referral, diagnosis
or treatment. Where urgent referral pathways do not exist all patients in England
have a right to start consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral
for non-urgent conditions. National guidance is also clear that all follow-up appointments
should take place when clinically appropriate.</p><p>Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT)
is a national clinical improvement programme, working with frontline clinicians to
identify and reduce unwarranted variations in service delivery and clinical practice.
The GIRFT programme looked at what can be done to ensure ophthalmology patients do
not suffer unnecessary delays in follow-up care. NHS England advise the GIRFT report
into ophthalmology, which will contain recommendations for service improvement, is
due for publication shortly.</p>
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