New research from Newmedica has revealed growing pressure on eye care waiting lists in England and thousands who may be suffering in silence.
15th July, 2026
Across England, the difference between clinical eye care referrals and treatments in 2025 was nearly 200,000 (187,952) – suggesting services are struggling to meet patient demand. The situation means that many people with sight threatening conditions risk losing their sight while stuck on waiting lists.
The research reveals that pressure on ophthalmology waiting lists increased across the vast majority Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England last year. 80% (34 of 42) of ICBs – which are responsible for planning, coordinating and funding local NHS service – recorded more referrals than treatments in 2025.
Around one in 12 patients awaiting first appointments for specialist treatment in England are in ophthalmology, making it the second largest NHS backlog behind trauma and orthopaedics*.
The DHSC say that two million people in the UK are living with sight loss, with this expected to rise to 2.7 million by 2030. It also reports that levels of sight loss related to glaucoma – one of the UK’s leading causes of preventable sight loss – have risen since 2020/21.
The findings form part of wider research that we commissioned to understand disparities in access to clinical eye care as part of our Championing Eye Health: patient choice and preventing avoidable sight loss report, which was presented to MPs on Wednesday 15 July 2026.
Speaking about the research, broadcaster Gyles Brandreth, who has been campaigning to end avoidable blindness for more than 20 years said: “This new research is shocking and lays bare the growing pressure on ophthalmology services across the country."
Most sight loss is avoidable if it is treated early enough. However, growing pressure on waiting lists means that, in many cases, people will have to wait far too long to receive treatment. This creates a significant and totally unnecessary risk that many people could needlessly go blind while they await treatment.
Gyles Brandreth
As a result of the findings, Newmedica is calling for mandatory reporting of ophthalmology waiting lists by condition to increase transparency. This will enable commissioners to target resources effectively and support efficient pathways which reduce clinical risk and give patients informed choice.
The growing pressure we see on ophthalmology waiting lists is a clear warning that eye health across England is under threat.
Nigel Kirkpatick, medical director at Newmedica
“This isn’t a failure of clinical expertise – we work closely with the NHS every day and see first-hand the exceptional care provided to patients up and down the country. Rather, the increasing pressure on waiting lists is a consequence of a system under funding pressure and a lack of transparency which makes it impossible for health commissioners to prioritise need.
“The result is that many instances of avoidable sight loss continue to occur, often because care is delivered too late. Patients are being let down. The stark situation must be tackled through reform aligned to the 10 Year Health Plan which generates greater collaboration between independent and NHS providers and deliver genuine patient choice.
“By embracing this reform, we can create a new system which delivers high-quality consultant-led care at scale. In doing so there’s a real opportunity to increase capacity, increase treatment levels and significantly improve ophthalmology patient outcomes across the country.” Nigel Kirkpatrick went on to say.
According to the research, while ophthalmology waiting list pressure was found to be increasing for most ICBs in England, the ICBs with the greatest pressure clustered around the south of the country.
The area facing the greatest waiting list pressure in 2025 was NHS Devon, with 66,564 ophthalmology referrals but only 47,652 pathway completions, suggesting almost 19,000 people were added to its waiting list. Overall, the number of completed treatments was almost 30% less than the number of new referrals.
At NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes nearly 10,000 people joined the waiting list – with the number of completed treatments 26% less than the number of new referrals.
For NHS Northamptonshire, the additional waiting list pressure was estimated to be 8,136 patients, with the number of completed treatments 25% less than the number of new referrals**.
The research also investigated potential treatment gaps across England for AMD, glaucoma and cataracts – using the latest publicly-available data*** to compare the estimated age-adjusted prevalence of these conditions in ICB areas with recorded treatment interventions****. This data was used to identify ‘blind spots’ in the country where people living with these conditions may be currently invisible to the system*****.
Across all three conditions, the treatment gap appeared most pronounced in the south east of England, excluding London. For cataracts, the region performed 22% fewer cataracts surgeries than the estimated prevalence data and average nationwide performance suggests may be required, with an estimated shortfall of 18,905.
For AMD the estimated shortfall in treatment injections for the region was 25.9% lower than could be expected with a shortfall of 33,944. For glaucoma prescription volumes were 7.5 per cent lower, with an estimated shortfall of 121,005.
At an individual ICB level, NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West had the largest estimated treatment gap for cataracts, recorded at 40%, a shortfall of 6,239 surgeries.
The ICB also had an estimated treatment gap of 50% for AMD, a shortfall of 11,870 injections. This was surpassed only by NHS Surrey Heartlands, which had an estimated gap of 56%, a shortfall of 8,760.
For glaucoma, NHS Surrey Heartlands was found to have the largest estimated treatment gap at 16%, a shortfall of 30,128 prescriptions.
While there is rightly a major focus on waiting list pressures across the country, our research suggests that we face an underlying problem too. Many people suffering from AMD, cataracts or glaucoma may be effectively invisible to the system and therefore not receiving the treatment they need.
Nigel Kirkpatrick
Mr Kirkpatrick continued: "This is a real concern as we know that earlier treatment interventions lead to better clinical outcomes for patients and it suggests we need to improve education and access in relation to eye health.
“As the details of the 10 Year Health Plan are developed further, empowering people to take ownership of their eyesight and come forward when they notice a change in their vision should form a core component of the strategy to shift from sickness to prevention and hospital to community care.”
Data information
* NHS England (2026). Consultant‑led Referral to Treatment Waiting Times: Incomplete Commissioner Dataset, April 2026. Available via the NHS England RTT statistical work area. www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statisticalwork-areas/rtt-waiting-times/wlmds/
** A separate document provided as an attachment provides the following data tables:
· 10 ICBs facing greatest waiting list pressure
· 10 ICBs with greatest estimated treatments gaps for AMD, cataracts and glaucoma
· Associated England-wide heatmaps for both waiting list pressure and estimated treatment gaps per condition, broken down to ICB level
***Data on treatment levels for AMD and cataracts was taken from FY 22/23, as published in 2024 DHSC records. Data on treatment levels for Glaucoma prescriptions was taken from a yearly average of the years spanning 01/11/2020 to 01/10/2025.
****The recorded treatment interventions used in the research for each eye health condition are as follows:
Cataracts: Surgery counts. Admissions to hospital for first cataract surgery in people aged 65 years. If they had a surgery on the second eye as well, it isn't counted here.)
AMD: Injection counts. Intravitreal injection therapy procedures in people aged 60 years and over, including follow ups.
Glaucoma: NHSBSA prescribing items – counts of prescriptions for glaucoma. For glaucoma our analysis relies on prescribing data for eye drops as a proxy for treatment because precise data for NICE recommended SLT laser treatment is unavailable in aggregate.
*****DHSC reports missing data from NHS Frimley Integrate Care Board for cataracts and AMD treatment. Therefore, the index for condition specific treatment interventions vs estimated condition prevalence runs from 1-41 for these specific conditions. Data on waiting lists for available for all 42 ICBs, so index placements for this metric run 1-42.
