Current status: Answered by Angela Constance on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government when it last published a workforce plan for eye care services, and whether it will commit to publishing an ophthalmology-specific workforce assessment, in light of reports of rising demand for services.
NHS workforce planning is undertaken through established national and local workforce planning processes. Health Boards are responsible for workforce planning and ensuring they have the staffing required to deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations.
The Scottish Government keeps workforce requirements under review as part of wider workforce planning arrangements. Following annual reviews of the number of specialty training places needed to meet anticipated future service demand and consultant need, the Scottish Government has funded the creation of approximately 850 additional posts across multiple specialities since 2014, including in ophthalmology. Fill rates for ophthalmology have been 100% over the past five years.
The Scottish Government remains focused on improving access to planned care services and reducing waiting times. In ophthalmology, we have commissioned the Centre for Sustainable Delivery to support improvements in cataract services, including increasing surgical throughput, supporting clinically-led service redesign and sharing best practice across NHS Scotland. Additional cataract capacity is also being provided through the Golden Jubilee National Hospital.
There are currently no plans to publish a separate ophthalmology-specific workforce assessment.