Plans to triple eye operations in Shropshire
The department for eye treatment services in Shropshire will be looking to more than triple the number of operations it carries out in the future, health bosses revealed today.
From Sunday, the eye department at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust will be taking new glaucoma and general ophthalmology referrals for the first time in more than a year.
It comes after the trust recruited a number of new staff to senior positions, including consultant ophthalmologists, and reduced waiting lists.
SaTH's chief executive Simon Wright said it had gone from being a "challenging service" to one which was close to being fully staffed.
He said future plans also include increasing the number of operations in the department from 30 to 100 a week.
Mr Wright said: "We would be able to provide them all and not see patients leaving the county.
"We've gone from having a 50 per cent vacancy in the department to one vacancy.
"We are hoping to fill that in the summer."
He said the changes had also helped to boost staff morale.
A clinician is also being trained in adult squint surgery, which means that service could also reopen to referrals later in the year.
The eye department is now based in a new facility in the Copthorne Building at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital which has been carefully designed with the needs of ophthalmology patients in mind.
Workforce
It was opened in June last year for outpatient appointments and clinics, bringing with it a number of benefits to patients including modern facilities, new equipment and increased capacity.
A new paediatric ophthalmology department was also opened in October last year.
Alongside the increased workforce and new facilities at SaTH, Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) have improved the community eye provision by appointing a new provider.
Community Health Eye Care Ltd provides consultant-led eye clinics at six locations throughout Shropshire, and Telford & Wrekin.
The appointment of a new community eye service provider on behalf of the CCGs ensures patients that do not need to be seen at hospital get a high quality consultant-led service closer to where they live.
Julie Davies, director of performance and delivery at Shropshire CCG, said: “This change to service design is a positive improvement to ophthalmology services in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin, and alongside SaTH’s increased workforce will ensure that patients who need eye care services will not only be seen quicker but will benefit from consultant-led care closer to home.”
The trust’s ophthalmology department temporarily suspended referrals for glaucoma last year, as well as general and adult squint referrals, in order to clear a backlog and reduce waiting times.
Ophthalmology deals with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases of the eye and visual system.
