Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a final question on an issue that I have spoken to the Minister about previously. It concerns the appointment of eye clinic liaison officers to hospital groups. HE quite rightly mentioned a hospital that has turned around the number of cataract operations it performs per hour from 4.5 per hour to 15 per hour, which is fantastic.

However, for people who are diagnosed with post-operative sight loss, there is no link between healthcare professionals and step-down services. The eye clinic liaison officer is that link. It has worked well in the children's hospital group in Dublin. If it was rolled out across the country, it would reduce the amount of time that medical professionals have to spend explaining to people what they needed to do in terms of step-down services. It would ease a significant blockage and give people access to much better step-down supports. I hope there will be eye clinic liaison officer funding in the budget next week and that the Minister will give a commitment to that at this meeting.