How Cinapsis Is Helping to Tackle Cataract Referral Bottlenecks in the NHS

Cataract surgery is one of the highest-volume elective procedures in the NHS.
Yet for many patients, the biggest hurdle isn’t the surgery - it’s the referral process.

Inconsistent paperwork, missing patient details, and rejected referrals can delay treatment and increase workload for clinicians.

Ophthalmology is currently the busiest outpatient specialty in the NHS, and as of early 2025, only around two-thirds of patients referred for specialist eye care were treated within the 18-week target (Healthwatch).

The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has highlighted substantial follow-up backlogs that put patient outcomes at risk (RCOphth).

In some areas, patients have waited up to 104 weeks for ophthalmology appointments / interventions (NHS England).

As demand for cataract surgery rises with an ageing population, services must not only increase procedure capacity but also handle far higher volumes of referrals from community optometrists.

Traditional processes often struggle with:

• Referrals rejected due to missing or incorrect details
• Manual triage and slow hand-offs between services
• Limited visibility for clinicians and patients
• Patients in the queue who don’t actually need to be there
• Significant administrative time that could be better spent on patient care

More NHS teams are now adopting centralised digital referral and triage platforms to remove these bottlenecks.
Systems like Cinapsis help to:

• Reduce referral errors and rejections with NHS Spine integration
• Route patients to the right service first time
• Provide full visibility and tracking for clinicians and patients
• Automate routine steps, saving valuable staff time

For teams managing cataract referrals, these improvements aren’t abstract, they change day-to-day practice.

“Using Cinapsis has vastly improved our referral system and the way we work - both for our team and for patients. It provides a much more consistent and organised process,” says Louise Shipman,  Cataract Team Supervisor for RSS - part of LLRPCL.

Louise highlights the difference a smarter system makes at key stages of the pathway:

“Rejections of referrals back to optometrists because of incorrect patient information or referral type have dramatically reduced to near zero, thanks to the integration with the NHS Spine and the clear choices and guidelines provided to referring clinicians.

Referrals are now uploaded directly to eRS, which has enabled us to give patients appointments with independent sector providers and triage them straight into hospitals.

Being able to trace referrals, manage workloads, give automated responses, assign work, and run reports has saved us significant time and proved incredibly useful for the team.”

Louise also notes that it isn’t just the technology that makes a difference, it’s the partnership:

“The Cinapsis support team are excellent. If we need changes made to suit our needs, we can easily discuss it with them and have adjustments made.”

This collaborative approach allows services to keep refining their pathways, responding to local pressures and priorities.

With the NHS elective waiting list at over 7.4 million patients as of July-2025 (BMA), optimising referral processes is a critical part of recovery efforts.

Cataract care offers a clear example of how better coordination and digital tools can deliver benefits for clinicians, administrators, and, most importantly, patients.

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Want to improve cataract referral pathways in your area?
If your service is experiencing referral delays or high rejection rates, we’d be happy to show you how Cinapsis has helped other NHS teams streamline their cataract pathways. 

👉 Get in touch with our team to explore how we can support your service.

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