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The future of multi-professional working in eye care

How the integration of service improvement technology, and health promotion will allow eye care professionals to overcome current and future challenges. The future of eye care in the UK is at a precipice. Hospital attendances are increasing year on year,...

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...

Sustainability in eyecare: Intraocular gases and the climate emergency

In 2020 the NHS became the first national health system to commit to delivering ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2040. The author investigates how the impact of ophthalmic surgery can be reduced. Medical gases have been used in ophthalmic surgery...

Thyroid eye disease

Thyroid eye disease (TED) is an autoimmune condition with a spectrum of signs and symptoms, usually associated with Graves’ hyperthyroidism. The diagnosis is based on history and physical examination but there are further investigations that can aid diagnosis if unclear....

Working smarter not harder: How to transform eyecare delivery in the United Kingdom (part 2)

Are we doing enough to meet the current demands on ophthalmic services? In part two of a two-part series (see Part 1 here), Rosalind Harrison explains how efficiency can be improved by setting up eye services in community hubs. The...

Post-stroke visual impairment: how big is the problem, how do we identify it, what we can do about it, and why does it matter?

In the UK, 100,000 new strokes occur each year, with 1.3 million stroke survivors [1]. This article will focus on post-stroke visual impairment, discussing topics of how common it is, how it can be detected, possible management options and how...

Real world data of post-IVT endophthalmitis, from a nurse-delivered intravitreal injection service

Introduction Intravitreal injection of neutralising anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibody was licenced more than a decade ago, and over the years there has been proportionate increase in the number of intravitreal injections [1]. Injection of a therapeutic agent through...

Charity work in Cambodia: Culture, cataracts, and cruelty

Cambodia has one of the lowest numbers of eye specialist doctors per capita in the world, and Bita Manzouri takes us on a journey into the charitable work of the Khmer Sight Foundation who are working to combat this. “Ut...

Paediatric optic disc anomalies

Anomalies of the optic nerve are relatively rare, but account for a significant proportion of sight impairment in children and adults. The recognition of these anomalies by eye health professionals is important not only due to their potential impact on...

The next wave of AI in ophthalmology: From screening to communication

Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping ophthalmology, moving from research laboratories into everyday clinical care [1]. With its strong reliance on imaging and pattern recognition, ophthalmology is uniquely positioned to benefit from AI innovations. These developments range from autonomous disease screening...

Surgical treatment of high myopia

Although several excellent modalities are available for correcting high myopia, the surgical treatment of this condition remains one of the biggest challenges for refractive surgeons; this group of patients is often very dependent on contact lenses. If these patients become...

Initiatives in macular service provision

A report from Monitor in October 2015 identifies good practices that will realise most of the potential productivity gain in elective care available to NHS hospitals. These include: stratifying patients by risk and creating low-complexity pathways for lower-risk patients (tailoring...