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How effective is nurse-led telephone preassessment for cataract surgery?

Cataract surgery is the most frequently performed surgical procedure in the UK [1]. The demand for cataract surgery is projected to increase with ageing population, and the recent pandemic has further contributed to the extended waiting times in the UK....

Glaucoma: 30 years on

Back in 1993, the late and great Barry Cullen FRCS (Cavan born, Dublin trained), the first editor of Eye News, asked me to write an article about the current treatment of chronic open angle glaucoma (COAG). At the time I...

Artificial intelligence and the 2024 Esme’s Umbrella Medical Student Essay Prize

Esme’s Umbrella is a charity for people with Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS), helping raise awareness of the condition as well as offering support and advice. All clinical specialties may encounter CBS, so Esme’s Umbrella inaugurated a medical student essay prize...

Coming to terms with AI

A machine might be called intelligent if its response to questions could convince a person that it was human, a test proposed by Alan Turing in 1950 [1]. The author considers potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) using machine learning...

Are we short-sighted about myopia?

Worldwide prevalence of myopia has increased rapidly in recent years and has now reached epidemic levels, particularly in South-East Asia where prevalence is around 80% [1-4]. Myopia prevalence is also increasing in the United States and Europe where it is...

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...

The challenges of rural optometry and how independent prescribing has helped

Why move from a busy professional independent Aberdeen optometry practice over 200 miles to one of the most remote places in the United Kingdom? I could talk about the professional challenge of supporting a rural community, or the chance to...

Glaucoma care provision using a multidisciplinary approach: a personal view

This article is going to explain the secret to running an efficient multidisciplinary glaucoma service which will comfortably meet the demands of an ever-growing elderly population, within the confines of budgetary and clinical constraints, wherever the setting. This may be...

Treating minor eye conditions in optometry practices: is this a viable model for the future?

The role of the optometrist has expanded in recent years as community eye care services have changed. With the limited scope of general ophthalmic services (GOS) regulations in most parts of the UK, the funding to support additional care has...

Patient safety – is this achieved in optometry with CET?

Collecting points and ticking boxes – as we come to the end of another three year cycle of continuing education and training (CET), the rush to ensure that everything has been completed on the myGOC (General Optical Council) dashboard feels...