Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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312. To ask the Minister for Health the measures his Department and the HSE are providing to address the backlog in ophthalmology waiting lists for children: if his Department is considering empowering community optometrists to treat children over eight years of age in the public system for a specific period; and if not, if he plans to build capacity to address the waiting lists. [2843/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The HSE Primary Care Eye Services Review Group (PCESRG) Report was launched in June 2017. The Report sets out current levels of service, models of service provision and the consultation process undertaken with patients, advocates, ophthalmic staff and representative bodies.

It also highlights the limitations of the current model of service delivery, including the impact on waiting lists, and sets out the way forward for a significant amount of eye services to be delivered in a primary care setting.

The Report estimates that 60% of existing outpatient activity could be moved to primary care thus enabling hospital services to focus on patients who require more specialist diagnostics or treatments. This Report remains current and the HSE has prioritised the following services in 2022:

- Establishing and expanding adult and paediatric primary care eye teams in CHOs 6, 7 and 9.

- Equipping CHOs 6, 7 an 9 with enhanced management of patients with cataract and other eye conditions to reduce hospital waiting lists. Over time, some of this work may transition to the local community optometrists, similar to the Sligo model of post-cataract care.

- Advance efforts to transfer the care of children aged 8+ years to the care of local private optometrists; a project team was established in late 2019 / early 2020 to progress this initiative but it was necessary to pause the project as the HSE concentrated its resources on response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The HSE are committed to bringing the project to conclusion over a 6-to-9-month time frame in 2022.

- Creating a new role of Consultant Medical Ophthalmologist, subject to the availability of resources.

- Successful recruitment of 1.0 WTE Consultant Medical Ophthalmologist per CHO 6, 7 and 9 to oversee clinical governance in the areas. There is a panel in place to recruit additional Consultant Medical Ophthalmologists to other CHOs and this will be rolled out in line with funding approval.

The Department fully supports the development of community services to expand and integrate the provision of eye care in local communities.