FODO Ireland calls on election candidates to resolve children’s eye care crisis

Donegal has 165 children and 4,664 patients overall waiting more than 12 months for eye treatment, figures from the first half of this year show.

Nationally, a total of 2,889 children under 18 were waiting over a year for eye treatment, in August. Overall, 12,592 patients were waiting for ophthalmology treatment in August. A total of 4,222 were waiting over 12 months.

FODO Ireland - the association for eye care providers - has called on all political parties to urgently consider and address the lack of a national scheme to provide eye care to children between the ages of eight and 18.
They say repeatedly promised HSE 'implementation plan', to reform care for children aged over eight, has not yet materialised.

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Once a child reaches eight, they are at risk of being abandoned by the health system due to the failure to implement a national scheme in community optical practices, where conditions such as squint, lazy eye and other impairments can be corrected before they become incurable.

Despite originally being announced in 2017 and comments on the record from the Minister for Health, progress in implementing such a scheme has been exceptionally slow, leading to the current crisis for the many children and parents who depend on state-funded primary care and a widening of health inequalities.

FODO members want a national scheme to meet the needs of children between eight and 18 and prevent lifelong impairment and sight loss using the €8.4 million already earmarked for waiting list innovation. FODO members also call on candidates and the new government to:
• Deliver the fair funding increases for eye examinations promised in January 2023
• Roll out electronic approval of medical card requests for eye exams to reduce inequalities and improve efficiency
• Make better use of the skills and facilities in community optometric practices to reduce pressures on GPs and Emergency departments using earmarked waiting list funds and additional investment promised in manifestos
• Recognise FODO Ireland as a partner, significant stakeholder and co-signatory to the Community Ophthalmic Services Scheme (COSS) contract owing to its members’ importance to eye health and the scale of operations.

Garvan Mulligan, chair of FODO Ireland

“Through regular testing and monitoring, early detection can prevent sight loss and impairments that can impact a child throughout life,” Garvan Mulligan, chair of FODO Ireland, said. “Under the current system, children between 8 and 18 are at risk of developing sight problems due to the lack of a coordinated national eye care scheme for children. It is disappointing that none of the Government or Opposition parties’ General Election manifestos have addressed this.”