From virtual triage to High Street optometry, eye care takes a leading role in the NHS’s digital shift.
Eye care in the United Kingdom is getting a digital fast track. Conditions including cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration will be among the first services delivered through the country’s new National Health Service (NHS) Online Hospital, which is expected to begin seeing patients in 2027.
The digital-first service will enable patients referred for specialist care to be triaged via the NHS App, consult clinicians through video appointments and be monitored remotely, while still retaining access to face-to-face tests, scans and procedures when clinically required.
Designed to ease pressure on overstretched services, the online hospital is expected to deliver the equivalent of up to 8.5 million virtual appointments and assessments within its first three years. That volume is roughly four times that of an average NHS trust and is intended to reduce long waiting times and tackle long-standing regional inequalities in access to care.
“NHS Online will make accessing healthcare as simple as ordering a cab or a takeaway—fundamentally changing how people interact with the NHS for generations to come,” said Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting in a news release.
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An online pathway for eye care
Under the NHS online model, patients will continue to be referred by their general practitioners (GPs) for specialist care and will be given the option to receive that care through the digital hospital. Consultations, follow-up appointments and ongoing monitoring can take place remotely through the NHS App, while diagnostic tests, imaging and procedures will be delivered at hospitals or local healthcare hubs closer to patients when needed.
The service forms part of the government’s wider 10-Year Health Plan, which outlines a shift in healthcare delivery “from analog to digital.” Eye conditions were chosen as an early priority in part because patients with these conditions currently face some of the longest waits for specialist services.
“With our single point of access service, we’ve been defining how a virtual hospital can support better eye care,” said Peter Thomas, director of Digital Development and consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital.
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The role of optometry
The decision to prioritize ophthalmology within NHS Online has been welcomed across the optical and eye care sector, alongside calls for clear and effective integration with community optometry. Sector stakeholders have highlighted the role High Street practices already play in managing demand by assessing patients locally and reducing unnecessary referrals into hospital ophthalmology services.
Providers have stressed that community optometry must remain central to the care pathway for NHS Online to function effectively, not only as a first point of contact but also as a setting for diagnostics and in-person assessments where required.
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The takeaway
As the NHS moves closer to launching its Online Hospital, the early inclusion of eye care signals a meaningful shift in how ophthalmology and optometry services may be accessed and delivered. The model is still taking shape, but its impact will hinge on how well digital pathways align with existing hospital services and community optometry.
If the integration is done right, eye care may be one of the clearest examples yet that digital transformation can actually sharpen, rather than blur, the clinical picture.
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