{"id":649825,"date":"2026-11-03T14:12:22","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T14:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/649825\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T14:12:22","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T14:12:22","slug":"new-zealand-billed-as-an-eyecare-utopia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/649825\/","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand billed as an eyecare \u2018Utopia\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The network includes ophthalmology, optometry, orthoptics, nursing and patient advocacy representatives. \u201cIf we add in the various workstream members, then we have 47 members from nine professions and 14 districts around the country. So, the network is highly diversified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Examples of effective collaboration include development of a keratoconus action plan, addressing a condition that disproportionately affects M\u0101ori and Pasifika rangatahi, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/nzoptics.co.nz\/live-articles\/nzao-ranzco-unite-for-eyecare-reform\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">programme<\/a> to shift 10,000 routine public hospital cataract follow-ups to community optometry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat programme will allow patients to be seen closer to home and will reinforce their relationship with their local optometrist, as well as freeing up hospital appointment spaces for other patients,\u201d Dr Mora said.<\/p>\n<p>The initiative followed a RANZCO\u2013NZAO meeting in June 2025 and a proposal to Health NZ\u2019s executive leadership team in October 2025. \u201cIt was met with great enthusiasm and with support from the minister down. The programme will start rolling out in October this year. This is a prime example of the effectiveness of working together.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the recent <a href=\"https:\/\/nzoptics.co.nz\/live-articles\/eye-health-sector-unites-to-put-funding-case-to-parliament\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Parliamentary Friends of Eye Health event<\/a> at the Beehive, RANZCO and Eye Health Aotearoa (EHA) signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to promote eye health. \u201cWe are collaborating on the next iteration of the college&#8217;s prescription for improvement, Te Kitenga Vision 2030. The advocacy voice that EHA brings, along with the wide community consultation that has been undertaken, will ensure that we do speak with one voice,\u201d said Dr Mora.<\/p>\n<p>However, he said there was still considerable room for improvement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn essence, I do think we are leading the way but there is still much we can learn from other countries,\u201d he said, citing free spectacles for children in the UK. \u201cWe need to do better with our outreach services, as many geographical areas are still poorly served. While we have introduced national access criteria to ensure equal prioritisation for given conditions irrespective of location, wait times for appointments are still too long.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need more collaboration and more support from our colleagues in optometry, orthoptics and nursing, to deliver care effectively. We also need far better support and rehabilitation services for those who have lost sight.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The network includes ophthalmology, optometry, orthoptics, nursing and patient advocacy representatives. \u201cIf we add in the various workstream&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":649826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[26407,235661,211502,168819,111,43,139,69,235664,235662,3532,235663,114505],"class_list":["post-649825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-clinical-research","tag-dispensing-optician","tag-eye-care","tag-eyewear","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-nz-optics","tag-ophthalmic","tag-ophthalmology","tag-optometrist","tag-optometry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=649825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/649825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/649826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=649825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=649825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=649825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}