Community Urgent Eyes and Minor Eye Condition Services
NHS Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) has decommissioned the Community Urgent Eye Service (CUES) in Coventry and the Minor Eye Conditions Service (MECS) in South Warwickshire. The services ended in November 2025.
Before making the decision to decommission these services, the ICB carried out a comprehensive review, including a full Equality and Quality Impact Assessment (EQIA).
Integrated Care Boards are responsible for commissioning healthcare services and ensuring that decisions represent the best use of public funds for their local population. The decision not to extend MECS in South Warwickshire and CUES in Coventry followed a full prioritisation process in March 2025, during which the services scored “very low” overall. The assessment concluded that the services duplicated existing provision and did not represent good value for money.
The majority of patients who accessed these services presented with conditions that can be appropriately managed by local pharmacies, GP practices, or optometrists. Where more urgent or specialist care is required, these providers are able to refer patients directly to the Emergency Eye Referral Service at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.
The ICB understands that primary care services are already under pressure. To make sure patients continue to receive timely, high-quality care and to check for any unexpected effects of this change, the ICB will closely monitor the impact over a six-month period. This will include reviewing patient experience, service quality, and any additional pressures on local services.
The FAQs below provide further information about the service closures and what this means for patients.
CUES and MECS were an optometry-led services which provide diagnosis and treatment for certain eye conditions in the community. The services treated minor eye conditions.
Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning decisions and for ensuring that those decisions offer the best value for money for the local population.
The decision not to extend the Minor Eye Conditions Service (MECS) in South Warwickshire and Community Urgent Eyecare Service (CUES) in Coventry followed a full prioritisation process in March 2025, during which the service scored “very low” overall. The ICB has a duty of care to ensure that taxpayers money is used prudently and our prioritisation process found that the current service was duplicative and poor value for money.
You still have options:
- Your GP – for most minor eye conditions.
- Local pharmacy – for advice and some treatments.
- Eye casualty at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) – for serious or emergency eye problems.
- NHS 111 – for urgent advice and referral if needed.
Yes. Medicines can still be accessed through normal routes at:
- Over the counter at pharmacies.
- Via prescription from your GP.
The ICB reviewed the service and found:
- It offered poor value for money.
- There was significant duplication with existing GP and pharmacy services also able to support with up to 80% of cases which were being dealt with by CUES/MECS.
- Many of the more serious case would have been referred to eye casualty following an appointment with CUES/MECS and this referral pathway remains the same for GPs and pharmacy.
An Equality and Quality Impact Assessment undertaken by the ICB found the impact on patients is low, mainly related to extra travel for some users.
Urgent and emergency eye care remains available through other NHS pathways.
If the treatment it is an urgent issue i.e. it comes on suddenly and causes great discomfort, then please access the minor eye clinic at UHCW. An appointment can be made via phoning 0247 696 4800. This phone line is open 9am-1pm; 1.30pm – 5pm (Monday – Friday excluding bank holidays) and 9am-12pm (Saturday) or via booking online Online Appointment Healthcare Platform | Swiftqueue.
If the treatment is routine, i.e. done every month as a maintained treatment, but cannot be done by your GP, your GP can refer you into the care of the ophthalmology team at their local NHS Trust. This will enable the team to look at the causes of this issue and to treat appropriately.
Seek immediate medical attention if you experience:
- Sudden loss of vision in one or both eyes.
- Severe eye pain or headache with eye symptoms.
- Flashing lights or sudden onset of floaters.
- Chemical injury to the eye.
- Penetrating eye injury or something stuck in the eye.
- Sudden double vision.
- Severe redness with discharge and swelling.
If any of these occur, go to eye casualty or call NHS 111 straight away.
If you are worried about these changes or need help finding the right service:
- Contact NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB via https://www.happyhealthylives.uk.
- You can also call NHS 111 for urgent advice.
The assessment of the capabilities of GPs and pharmacists was developed following clinical guidance and using the following resources.
- Moorfield eye hospital guidance for primary care - Common eye condition management - Moorfields Eye Hospital
- NHS Community Pharmacist Consultation Service specification– this is now included in Pharmacy First local minor illness/ailment pathway - this includes red or irritable eye, sticky or watery eye, or eyelid problems
Key Reassurance
You will still receive urgent eye care when needed, but the way services are delivered has changed to make best use of NHS resources and ensure care is provided in the most appropriate setting.