Thankyou to our Headline Sponsors above

Glaucoma patients can now access speedy NHS care at local specialist eye hospital


Glaucoma patients can now access speedy NHS care at local specialist eye hospital

A new NHS service to support glaucoma patients throughout Greater Manchester and help to relieve long wait times for glaucoma treatment at local NHS Trusts, has been launched at a local leading specialist eye hospital.

The new, free service launched at Optegra Eye Hospital Manchester means that glaucoma patients whose condition has changed can be monitored and reviewed by expert surgeons and offered treatment as necessary. These are patients who need a specialist, which cannot be provided by their local optician practice, and to date have had no option but to be put on waiting lists for their Trust hospital.

Optegra, based in Didsbury, can treat patients within just weeks of referral from the local optometrist.

Glaucoma is a common sight-threatening condition where the pressure of the eye causes damage to the optic nerve, leading to blurred vision or rainbow-coloured circles in vision.  Without treatment it will progress and vision will deteriorate.

Specialist interventions available at Optegra include adjustments to medication (a drop regime to manage eye pressure), laser surgery or a stent procedure to drain fluid to relieve pressure.

Patients will then either continue to be monitored at Optegra, be referred back to their community optometrist or on to a Trust hospital dependent on the severity of their condition.

Consultant ophthalmic surgeon, and glaucoma lead at Optegra, Mr Robert Petrarca explains: “The treatment pathway can vary for glaucoma patients, from those whose condition is stable and low-risk and who are regularly monitored at their community optometrist, to those with more complex, high-risk cases who need surgical intervention or treatment at a Trust hospital.

“However, there is a large cohort of patients in the middle who need to be monitored by glaucoma specialists and this is where we at Optegra can help.

“With the new monitoring, review and treatment service, we will only need to refer those who need complex trabeculectomy surgery on to Trusts – which means speedier access to treatment, as well as helping relieve Trust waiting lists for glaucoma.”


Mel Andrew, NHS Commissioning Director at Optegra Eye Health Care, said: “As the independent sector continues to deliver and be recognised as providing excellent care for NHS treatments, we are proud to extend beyond cataract surgery to now support glaucoma patients too.

“There are some patients who will need both so we can provide a joint treatment in those cases – there are many opportunities to explore and we are excited to grow our treatment offering in this way.”

 

Optegra Eye Health Care is a specialist provider of ophthalmic services. Established in 2007, with its first hospital opening in 2008, it has completed over one million eye procedures from its 41 eye hospitals and over 60 locations across the UK, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Holland.

As well as providing private vision correction treatments – from lens replacement and laser eye surgery to implantable contact lenses – Optegra treats cataract surgery both privately and through its partnership with the NHS.

Optegra also treats medical conditions AMD and glaucoma; and has launched the first ever treatment for people with the Dry form of AMD.

Optegra brings together leading-edge research, medical expertise and state-of-the-art surgical equipment.  It performs more than 140,000 treatments annually, both private and publicly funded. Its top ophthalmic surgeons are renowned for their areas of expertise, offering excellent clinical outcomes and great patient service.