NHS England South East has successfully procured a new, regionwide automated cataract care pathway, jointly funded by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England South East region. The platform will modernise and standardise the cataract pathway, making the patient journey simpler and faster, while maintaining strong clinical oversight and patient safety.

Anne Eden South East Regional Director NHS England, said: “This is a major step forward for patients across the South East. By modernising and standardising the cataract pathway, we can reduce avoidable delays and improve the clarity and convenience of care for thousands of people each year. The early success in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West, and in Hampshire and Isle of Wight, shows how transformative this approach can be. I am proud that our region is leading one of the most ambitious ophthalmology improvements in England.”

What this means for patients 

• Fewer unnecessary appointments, with more checks completed remotely where it is safe to do so.
• Support to help patients make informed choices about where to receive care, considering factors such as waiting times and travel distance.
• Clearer information and reminders about appointments and preparation for surgery.
• Postoperative follow up supported by automated check-ups for routine cases, with rapid escalation to the clinical team if symptoms suggest any problems or concerns.
• The platform has already demonstrated excellent customer satisfaction from patients of all ages, supporting access to care at times that are convenient and accessible to them.

How the service works 

The AI enabled solution automates key elements of the patient journey, replacing multiple pre and postoperative outpatient appointments with clinically validated digital conversations. It supports referral triage, patient choice, reminders, waiting list validation and postoperative follow up. The innovation will also report on patient reported outcome measures (PROMs).

The system is designed to reliably and accurately flag and escalate any concerns to clinicians promptly. By standardising care pathways across the region, the service will ensure that capacity across the NHS and independent sector is used effectively to improve timely access to cataract care.

Why we are doing this

Cataract surgery is one of the most common NHS procedures. By safely automating routine steps, we can reduce avoidable delays, improve communication with patients, and free up clinical time for the people who need face to face care and more complex assessment.  This approach will also ensure that the skills of highly trained community optometrists can be best used for the patients who need them most, increasing community capacity and strengthening the overall model of care.

Early implementation has demonstrated significant benefits, including reduced waiting times, fewer cancellations, and the release of tens of thousands of follow up appointments each year.

The pathway is expected to free up substantial nursing and clinical capacity and refocus work on other eyecare subspecialties, improve patient experience, and support sustainable delivery of cataract care across the region. This programme represents one of the most ambitious ophthalmology transformations in England and provides a scalable model for wider adoption.