Search

A new apprenticeship to train specialists in children’s eyecare and vision problems

A pioneering apprenticeship has launched that will create new opportunities for people to train as eyecare specialists while helping to tackle growing vision problems in children and adults across England. For the first time, aspiring orthoptists can now train through...

From paper to pocket: Standardising eyecare with the Malawi Eye Care App

Malawi’s population is mostly rural; the government and Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) together deliver about 80% of healthcare services through local district and community health facilities [1]. However, ophthalmology specialist services are only concentrated in the central hospitals....

Providing primary eyecare services during a global pandemic: the new normal

It would be fair to say that 2020 hasn’t quite turned out to be the year that anyone predicted. Living with a global pandemic has become our reality and we are having to get used to many aspects of our...

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...

Community Eyecare Services in Northern Ireland: putting the patient at the centre, improving outcomes and maximising system resource

The UK has four healthcare systems; Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each has autonomous legislature that develops health policy, while the UK government directly runs England’s NHS. Like the other nations, Northern Ireland is continually challenged to meet the needs...

Artificial intelligence in eyecare: how do we ensure new technologies truly benefit our patients?

From monitoring patients with heart disease to improving the early diagnosis of cancer, artificial intelligence (AI) using deep learning techniques is already employed in many different healthcare specialties [1]. In the eyecare field, AI technologies have been used to analyse...

Working smarter not harder: How to transform eyecare delivery in the United Kingdom (part 1)

Are we doing enough to meet the current demands on ophthalmic services? In part one of a two-part series (see Part 2 here), Rosalind Harrison takes a look at how efficiency has been improved in eyecare services in the US....

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...

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...