More evening and weekend appointments available for eye diabetes checks
More out-of-hours sessions for diabetic eye screening will be available for Shropshire people after six new experts joined the county hospital trust.
The six screening practitioners have joined the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital trust (SaTH) this year, providing more opportunities for patients to access clinics in the evenings and at weekends.
Every year more than 25,000 diabetic people in Shropshire are invited to get checked for diabetic retinopathy, which can lead to sight loss if untreated.
The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust (SaTH) sees around 140 new diabetes patients every month, and has secured extra funding for the new practitioners as a result.
Andy James, Shropshire Diabetic Eye Screening Programme Manager, said: “We were successful in applying for extra funding, which means we have been able to take on new team members.
“It means that if there is demand, we are now in a position to start offering more frequent out-of-hours appointments at the Royal Shrewsbury and Princess Royal Hospitals as we know that not everyone can attend clinics Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.
“It is people of working age that are in the higher risk group for diabetic retinopathy, so it is important that we have the potential to offer them access to an out-of-hours clinic.
"It means that they don’t have to take time out of their working day to attend.”
As part of the national NHS screening programme, patients with diabetes are screened on an annual basis to detect signs of diabetic retinopathy.
The eye test is a simple non-invasive procedure which involves examining and photographing the back of the eye.
The Shropshire Diabetic Eye Screening team is based at the Hummingbird Centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (RSH).
As well as clinics at RSH and PRH, the team also provides a community screening programme at more than 20 venues around the county.
