Model of Care
The key recommendations of the Model of Eye Care are:
- Development of multidisciplinary primary eye care teams, enabling most patients to be seen in their own locality, and with all team members working in the same location. This model of eye care will require investment in community clinics, both in staff numbers and in equipment, and better integration between community and hospital care.
- Investment in information technology, including standardised equipment and electronic patient records, to enable a hub-and-spoke regional delivery of care and an integrated system.
- Expansion of theatre access and establishment of stand-alone high-volume consultant-led cataract theatres with a full complement of support staff in order to facilitate a timelier response from the surgical centres, thereby keeping waiting times to a minimum.
- Establishment of clear and concise clinical referral pathways in order to minimise unnecessary referrals. This will include a focus on effectiveness and efficiency of eye care services delivery.