Ophthalmology
Effect of the COVID-19 Urgent Eyecare Service on patient referrals to general practitioners and Hospital Eye Service
The COVID-19 Urgent Eyecare Services (CUES) was developed to relieve the demands of hospital ophthalmology, aiming to allow patients to have remote consultations and be managed by community optometric practice. This was because access to Hospital Eye Service (HES) Ophthalmic...
How to be ‘appy’ on call: a brief guide to mobile phone applications for the on-call ophthalmologist
One of the unexpected outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic has been an increased reliance and integration of computer technology within hospital medicine. The need for stricter infection control policies during and after lockdown has seen a boom in technology utilisation....
Pathway innovations to address cataract services post-COVID-19
Background The demand for cataract services prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was already recognised to be high and growing - in the face of an ageing population and reduced surgical thresholds. When added to the growth in demand for ophthalmic...
Possible COVID-19 related maculopathy
COVID-19 is being investigated as a potential cause for various ocular diseases, with growing evidence of related retinal vascular changes, that vary from isolated cotton wool spots and retinal haemorrhages to retinal vascular occlusions [1.2]. COVID-related macular affection has also...
The increased use of surgical adjuncts in complex cataract surgeries undertaken in the COVID-19 pandemic
The authors explore whether more complicated cataract operations have been performed in the NHS since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Restrictions in availability of access to elective cataract surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent case prioritisation based on...
Ambitions for sustainable service recovery amidst an escalating post-COVID backlog
Rod McNeil reviews plans, activity and solutions to better address the post-COVID backlog and bolster sustainable service recovery. Ophthalmology was the busiest outpatient specialty during the three years to March 2020 across the English NHS and again recorded the highest...
Do patient demographics influence AMD clinic attendance during COVID-19 lockdown?
The authors assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adherence to scheduled clinic appointments among age-related macular degeneration patients in a clinic in North Wales. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the population, affecting economic and social wellbeing, whilst...
Analysis of ‘urgent’ cataract referrals from community optometrists in the West of Scotland
As elective cataract services restart post-COVID, how do we establish which patients should be a priority? The authors share their findings from a review of ‘urgent’ referrals received by the ophthalmology department in NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde. The COVID-19...
The ocular manifestations of COVID-19: an overview of current literature
Although respiratory symptoms are the most frequent manifestation of COVID-19, multi-organ involvement has been demonstrated, including ocular manifestations. The author investigates how the eye can be affected. The SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic has presented a significant public...
COVID-19: Pete’s Bogus Journey
The author shares his personal experience of contracting coronavirus. I managed to body swerve COVID-19 for nine months. The Pfizer vaccine was being rolled out in my trust. I had my first inoculation booked in three weeks. I had survived...
Novel changes during COVID-19 – transforming a walk-in Eye Casualty to a telephone triage service
With the current pandemic climate due to COVID-19, out of the norm approaches have been adopted in different hospitals across the UK to ensure patient safety. At our Eye Casualty (EC) department at Northampton General Hospital (NGH), we felt the...
Decoding the red eye
Red eye, or hyperaemia, is one of the most common presentations to primary care [1] and the emergency department [2]. However, despite this the underlying cause is often misdiagnosed which can lead to severe, sight-threatening conditions being missed [1]. Thorough...
