Eye care in the UK is heading to High Street as the NHS plans a community setting for ophthalmology.
The National Health Service (NHS; UK) is setting its sights on a major shift in eye care…one that brings ophthalmology services out of hospitals and into the heart of local communities.
Beginning in November 2025, a new NHS-backed program will support this transition across England. The eight-month initiative—led by Primary Eyecare Services, the NHS Confederation and Q Community—will help neighborhood, acute and integrated care systems (ICSs) design the infrastructure needed to deliver eye care closer to where patients live by July 2026.
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According to the organizations involved, the program will guide local teams in developing pathways to diagnose, treat and manage conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease and eye infections outside hospital settings. Some teams are expected to continue into the implementation phase after the planning work concludes.
Dharmesh Patel, chief executive of Primary Eyecare Services, described optometry services as “a success story in the provision of open and accessible NHS-funded care,” in a news release.
“We are all familiar with how readily services are accessible through trusted opticians on our local High Streets, from small independent practices to national chains. Many of these services are highly specialized and already closely inform the diagnosis and management of serious conditions,” Patel said.
He added, “There is so much scope to build on this success by expanding the range of services available to include more of those normally located within hospitals.
“As members of the NHS Confederation through the Primary Care Network, we are delighted to be selected as an expert partner for this program, using our expertise to bring together and support teams to design solutions for how this can be done in practice.”
From concept to community care
The initiative aligns with the government’s wider “three shifts” strategy, one of which emphasizes moving care from hospital to community settings. With ophthalmology among the NHS’s busiest outpatient specialties, this shift is expected to help reduce waiting times and improve access to care.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said, “Much has been said about the left-shift and moving care closer to home, and the benefits are universally acknowledged.
“But for the NHS to be fit for the future, we now have to move from theory to practice. Those that can do this successfully will not only make a difference to patients within their own areas, but will serve as part of the vanguard for the change that we need to see nationally.”
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Taylor added, “I am proud that the NHS Confederation and our partners, Primary Eyecare Services, are taking the lead on supporting members to make that shift a reality through this new program of work.”
Dr. Peter Hampson, clinical and policy director at the Association of Optometrists (AOP), also welcomed the development.
“The government has been clear that transforming the NHS means moving care closer to where patients live,” Dr. Hampson said. “This piece of work will help to further highlight what is possible and why, when we think about eye care, optometry should be the first port of call.”
Applications for local teams to join the program are open until 30 October 2025, with more details available on the NHS Confederation website.
If all goes to plan, by next summer England’s high streets could become not just shopping destinations, but part of the NHS’s new frontline in eye care.