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Found 42 results
  1. News Article
    The lives of thousands of blind and partially sighted people are being put at risk by delays in vital care that they have a legal right to after being assessed as visually impaired, according to a report. More than a quarter of English councils are leaving people who have just been diagnosed as blind waiting more than a year for vision rehabilitation assessments and potentially life-saving support, the report by the RNIB revealed. It cited the example of one person who died while waiting for council help. The Guardian can reveal that the case involved a woman from Church Stretton in Shropshire who had been waiting 18 months for an assessment when she tripped on a pothole and died later from head injuries. She had been trying to teach herself how to use a white cane, without any support or training, despite getting a certificate of visual impairment. Councils are obliged to provide such help for those coping with a recent visual impairment under the 2014 Care Act. The support involves helping people cope practically and mentally with visual impairment at a critical time after a diagnosis. The social care ombudsman recommends that councils should provide these services within 28 days of someone receiving a certificate of visual impairment. But the RNIB report, which is based on freedom of information requests to councils in England, found that 86% were missing this 28-day deadline. The report, Out of sight – The hidden scandal of vision rehabilitation warned that the delays uncovered in the figures were dangerous. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 10 March 2024
  2. Content Article
    Thousands of people with sight loss remain 'Out of Sight' in the hidden scandal of vision rehabilitation. Life changes after sight loss, sometimes overnight, often in dramatic ways. Done well, vision rehabilitation equips people with new ways to stay independent: to get out and about, adapt their work, shop and enjoy hobbies. However, the reality is stark. 86% of local authorities in England miss the 28-day recommended deadline to explore a person’s needs. Threadbare services mean people wait without the support they’re entitled to, at risk of physical accidents and injuries as well as mental health crises. The RNIB are calling on all UK political parties to commit to ensuring blind and partially sighted people get the support they need, when they need it.
  3. News Article
    A surgeon sacked by a hospital after raising safety concerns has accused the trust of a cover-up after a patient was partially blinded during an operation. Juanita Graham, 41, lost the sight in her left eye during an operation at Bath's Royal United Hospital (RUH) in 2019. She is now suing the trust. Serryth Colbert said he was put down as the lead author on an investigation into the incident, but said he "did not write a word" of it. Mr Colbert has described the hospital investigation into Mrs Graham's operation as "deeply flawed". The surgeon, who specialises in the head, neck, face and jaw, has made several serious allegations about patient safety at the RUH, and believes these claims led to him being regarded as a troublemaker and dismissed in October 2023. Mrs Graham, from Trowbridge, said she was still traumatised by the operation on her eye. "I remember coming round, seeing the time and felt like a gush and I couldn't see," she said. "The next time I remember waking up again, I thought it was my partner but it was a surgeon and he was crying. I said 'what's gone wrong?'". After the operation, a Root Cause Analyses (RCA) report produced by the trust said the hospital was not to blame, although it did say the risks could have been explained more clearly to Mrs Graham. Mr Colbert, whose name was added as the lead investigator, said his only involvement in the report was when he was called on the phone by a nurse, who he said did the RCA, to explain what the operation involved. The 48-year-old surgeon said: "I have been put down here to my amazement as the lead author on this. "That is not correct. I did not write a word of this. "The conclusion is the root cause of the complication was down to a bit of paperwork which could have been performed a bit better. "The root cause was not down to paperwork. It was all covered up... that was indefensible." Read full story Source: BBC News, 29 February 2024
  4. News Article
    Patients are being forced to pay for urgent eye care or risk going blind because of long NHS waits. MPs will today hear the scale of the “emergency” with four in five high street optometrists revealing their patients have paid for private procedures in the past six months. Dame Andrea Leadsom, the former House of Commons leader, business secretary and environment secretary, is being called on to commit to improving NHS eye care in her new role as public health minister. Four in five optometrists say they have patients waiting more than a year to be referred for an NHS appointment or treatment, according to analysis by the Association of Optometrists (AOP), leaving them at risk of going blind. About 640,000 people are waiting for an NHS ophthalmology appointment, more than any other speciality – accounting for about one in 11 people on the 7.8 million waiting list. About half of these people say their sight is deteriorating while they wait to be seen. Tens of thousands have been waiting more than a year, the AOP said. In a letter to Dame Leadsom, Adam Sampson, the chief executive of the AOP, said that high street optometrists should be used more widely across the NHS for “cataract surgery, help for glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration”. Mr Sampson said: “With the expansion of primary eye care services, more patients will have a better chance of receiving improved treatment, faster and locally, which could prevent avoidable irreversible sight loss.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Telegraph, 23 November 2023
  5. News Article
    A man claims he lost his sight in one eye after routine cataract surgery left him in "unbelievable" pain. John Stabler, from East Yorkshire, is set to sue the maker of an artificial lens he had fitted last year and which was later recalled over safety fears. The 63-year-old said he felt like he had been hit "with a sledgehammer" after the operation and had suffered "catastrophic" loss of income. Manufacturer Nidek said it "profoundly regrets" any patient suffering. Mr Stabler is one of 14 patients seeking compensation over the company's EyeCee One Preloaded lens. He said he had suffered permanent nerve damage to his left eye after having the lens fitted at Hull and East Yorkshire Eye Hospital in October last year. He told the BBC: "About two days after, I was getting really bad pain. It was unbelievable. It was like someone was hitting me with a sledgehammer." NHS England issued a safety alert in January 2023 after Nidek announced a "voluntary and precautionary" global product recall of its EyeCee One and EyeCee One Crystal intraocular lenses. UK distributor Bausch + Lomb said there has been "a limited number of reports of elevated intraocular pressure in patients". Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 September 2023
  6. News Article
    The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent warning letters to pharmacy chains Walgreens and CVS accusing them of illegally marketing eye care products. The FDA’s warning letters said the products in question, which were falsely labelled as potential treatments for conditions like glaucoma, cataracts, and pink eye, should be modified if the companies and manufacturers that make and distribute them want to avoid legal action. “The FDA is committed to ensuring the medicines Americans take are safe, effective and of high quality,” Jill Furman, Director of the Office of Compliance at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. “When we identify illegally marketed, unapproved drugs and lapses in drug quality that pose potential risks, the FDA works to notify the companies involved of the violations.” Ms Furman wrote in the letter sent to Walgreens: “Your ‘Walgreens Allergy Eye Drops,’ ‘Walgreens Stye Eye Drops,’ and ‘Walgreens Pink Eye Drops’ products are especially concerning from a public health perspective. Ophthalmic drug products, which are intended for administration into the eyes … pose a greater risk of harm to users because the route of administration for these products bypasses some of the body’s natural defences.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 21 September 2023
  7. News Article
    At least 20 patients have suffered harm due to their follow-up appointments not being booked at a hospital department where people ‘continue to come to harm’, according to an internal review. Torbay and South Devon Foundation Trust is reviewing its ophthalmology service after 22 people were harmed following “system failures” with their follow-up appointments. The trust’s initial investigation, obtained by HSJ with the Freedom of Information Act, warned there were “potentially” other patients affected by the failures who had not yet been identified. In response, the trust said its ophthalmology department had already “undertaken a significant amount of work to address a large proportion of the actions arising from the review”, including building another operating theatre and recruiting more staff. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 21 August 2023
  8. News Article
    Videos circulating on the social media platform claim that castor oil can help to treat dryness, floaters, cataracts, poor vision and even glaucoma. Doctors have issued a warning not to use castor oil as a way to treat vision problems following claims on TikTok. Castor oil is a type of vegetable oil traditionally used to treat a range of issues like skin infections. It is even a common ingredient in some over-the-counter eye drops. But dozens of TikTok videos have gone one step further, claiming that by rubbing the oil over eyelids, eyelashes and under the eye, it helps to treat dryness, floaters, cataracts, poor vision and even glaucoma. One woman said that after two weeks of use, she doesn't need to wear reading glasses as often, while another said it prevented an eye infection from progressing. Now, doctors in the US have said the oil is "not going to seep in and dissolve or fix anything". They warned that some unsterilised bottles on shop shelves may even cause irritation or infection if put directly into the eye. "Castor oil is not a cure-all. If you have concerns about your eyes, you need to see an optician," Dr Ashley Brissette, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology. She said they cannot make recommendations as studies that look at the effects of eye drops which contain castor oil on dry eyes and blepharitis are of low quality, involving small sample sizes and no control groups. Dr Vicki Chan, a practising optician in Los Angeles added that castor oil has no effect on conditions that affect the inside of the eyeball. These include cataracts - an age-related condition that causes cloudy vision - floaters, and glaucoma, which occurs when fluid accumulates and damages the optic nerve. Dr Brissette added that ignoring early symptoms of glaucoma, or waiting to see it castor oil improves conditions such as cataract, can lead to permanent vision loss or complications with surgery. Instead, eating a healthy balanced diet; removing all make up before bed; wearing sunglasses outdoors and attending regular eye examinations are alternative ways to maintain eye health.
  9. News Article
    Proposals for primary care networks to evolve into more collaborative “integrated neighbourhood teams” to improve access to care have been broadly welcomed. A “stocktake” report commissioned by NHS England, published on 26 May, called for urgent same day appointments to be dealt with by “single, urgent care teams” for every neighbourhood with greater use of a range of health and social care professionals. The report, written by Claire Fuller, a general practitioner and chief executive of Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System, undertaken by Dr Claire Fuller, Chief Executive-designate Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System and GP on integrated primary care, looks at what is working well, why it’s working well and how we can accelerate the implementation of integrated primary care (incorporating the current 4 pillars of general practice, community pharmacy, dentistry and optometry) across systems. Doctors’ leaders welcomed many of the report’s recommendations but emphasised that they could only work if the government resourced primary care practices better and tackled workforce shortages. Read full story (paywalled) Source: BMJ, 27 May 2022
  10. News Article
    Hundreds of people who had retinal implants to improve their sight face an uncertain future as the technology they rely on is now obsolete. Second Sight stopped making its Argus II bionic eyes several years ago to focus on a brain implant instead. According to IEEE Spectrum it is now hoping to merge with a biopharmaceutical firm which does not make eye implants. IEEE Spectrum reports that Second Sight actually discontinued its retinal implants - which effectively take the place of photoreceptors in the eye to create a form of artificial vision - in 2019. Patients contacted by IEEE Spectrum voiced concern. One, Ross Doerr, said Second Sight failed to contact any of its patients after its financial difficulties in 2020. "Those of us with this implant are figuratively and literally in the dark," he said. Another user, Jeroen Perk, had problems when his VPU system broke in November 2020. "I had no vision, no Argus, and no support from Second Sight," he said. Elizabeth M Renieris, professor of technology ethics at the University of Notre Dame, in the US, described the development as a cautionary tale. She told the BBC: "This is a prime example of our increasing vulnerability in the face of high-tech, smart and connected devices which are proliferating in the healthcare and biomedical sectors." "These are not like off-the-shelf products or services that we can actually own or control. Instead we are dependent on software upgrades, proprietary methods and parts, and the commercial drivers and success or failure of for-profit ventures." Ethical considerations around such technology should in future include "autonomy, dignity, and accountability", she added. Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 February 2022
  11. News Article
    Thousands of patients are being recalled for urgent eye checks after regulators raised safety concerns related to a product used in cataract surgery. It is thought around 20 trusts have suspended use of the EyeCee One lenses, after the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency warned of links to higher pressure in the eye, which can cause lost vision. The MHRA has issued an alert ordering trusts to recall patients who have had surgery since October, and estimates between 2 and 4 per cent of patients could have complications. The watchdog stressed reduced vision would only occur if patients were not treated. It is thought the complications could be down to the way the implant was being used in surgery, rather than the product itself. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 7 February 2023
  12. News Article
    The backlog for ophthalmology appointments in England is the second-largest in the NHS, with UK eye doctors concerned about the number of patients losing sight unnecessarily. Their shock is palpable. How this could be happening in a rich country such as Britain? There are treatments for common blindness-causing conditions such as macular degeneration, but to get them patients must be able to access the service. And right now the NHS doesn’t have the capacity to deliver them in a timely way. As junior doctors’ unions – and possibly those of consultants and nurses – proceed with strike action, it’s easy to attack medical professionals with the question: “How many people are dying because of your actions?” The truth is that the entire system has been struggling, and people have been dying anyway because of system failures. Now add to this people living with disabilities that were preventable, such as going blind. When Labour was in power, it made a real effort, including with financial allocation, to reduce waiting-list times for non-emergency care. But since the Tories were elected in 2010, years of austerity and public-sector neglect – and the shifting of resources and wealthy patients into a lucrative and growing private sector – has meant that the NHS has been transformed from a robust, preventive healthcare service into an acute one. Its basic offering is now: “If you’re dying, we will save you.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 19 April 2023
  13. News Article
    The independent sector should be commissioned to provide more NHS outpatient appointments, rather than just be focused on cutting cataract waiting lists, the president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists has said. A “workforce census” survey carried out by the college and shared with HSJ found almost 60% of respondents believed independent providers were having a “negative impact” on care and ophthalmology services in their area. Speaking about its findings to HSJ, RCOphth president Bernie Chang said Covid had exacerbated problems caused by use of independent sector providers. These problems included cases being passed back to the NHS when IS care failed, and the NHS being left with a greater concentration of more serious, and costly, cases as the IS focussed on routine cataract operations. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 3 April 2023
  14. News Article
    Hundreds of patients have lost their eyesight or had it irreparably damaged because of NHS backlogs, new research suggests. NHS England clinicians have filed 551 reports of patients who lost their sight as a result of delayed appointments since 2019, with 219 resulting in “moderate or severe harm”, according to an FoI request by the Association of Optometrists, which believes that hundreds more cases are unreported. Its chief executive, Adam Sampson, said sight loss was a “health emergency”, and urged ministers to introduce a national eye health strategy to enable high street and community optometrists to ease some of the burden on hospitals. He said: “There are good treatments available for common age-related eye conditions like macular degeneration but many hospital trusts simply do not have the capacity to deliver services. “Optometry is ideally placed to take away some of that burden – optometrists are already qualified to provide many of the extended services needed and are available on every high street, so patients can be treated closer to home. It’s incomprehensible and absolutely tragic that patients are waiting, losing their vision, in many parts of the country because of the way eye healthcare is commissioned.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 21 March 2023
  15. News Article
    US health officials say that eyedrops may have killed one person and severely injured several others due to drug-resistant bacterial contamination. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified 68 patients across 16 states with a rare strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The strain had never been found in the US before this latest outbreak. In addition to the one death, eight patients have suffered vision loss, and four have had eyes surgically removed. Most of the patients diagnosed with the infection reported using eyedrops and artificial tears, according to the CDC. Ten different brands were initially identified as possibly linked to the outbreak, the CDC said. Eyedrops that are made in India and imported to the US under two brands were subsequently pulled from shelves in January and February. Read full story Source: BBC News, 17 March 2023
  16. Content Article
    The MHRA is aware of cases of increased intraocular pressure in patients recently implanted with EyeCee One preloaded and EyeCee One Crystal preloaded intraocular lenses (IOLs), which are manufactured by NIDEK and distributed by Bausch + Lomb. The root cause has not been identified and further investigations are ongoing with the manufacturer.  Due to the potential risks for patient safety, you should stop using these IOLs and quarantine remaining stock immediately pending the results of further investigations. Additional communications will be issued shortly advising clinicians and affected patients on the next steps.
  17. Content Article
    Patients are facing increased delays at almost every stage of their NHS treatment, as the health system struggles to find the resources to deal with demand. The latest data shows waiting lists across England have surpassed record highs every month for two years running, one of many major challenges currently facing the NHS. But what impact does this have on ordinary people trying to access the NHS in 2022? Through a combination of interviews with health professionals and analysis of official data, the Guardian has plotted the journeys of four fictional patients through their NHS journey and how waiting times have changed at each stage of their treatment and recovery.
  18. News Article
    An artificial intelligence (AI) tool that scans eyes can accurately predict a person’s risk of heart disease in less than a minute, researchers say. The breakthrough could enable ophthalmologists and other health workers to carry out cardiovascular screening on the high street using a camera – without the need for blood tests or blood pressure checks – according to the world’s largest study of its kind. Researchers found AI-enabled imaging of the retina’s veins and arteries can specify the risk of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular death and stroke. They say the results could open the door to a highly effective, non-invasive test becoming available for people at medium to high risk of heart disease that does not have to be done in a clinic. “This AI tool could let someone know in 60 seconds or less their level of risk,” the lead author of the study, Prof Alicja Rudnicka, told the Guardian. If someone learned their risk was higher than expected, they could be prescribed statins or offered another intervention, she said. Speaking from a health conference in Copenhagen, Rudnicka, a professor of statistical epidemiology at St George’s, University of London, added: “It could end up improving cardiovascular health and save lives.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 October 2022
  19. News Article
    The coronavirus can linger in patients’ eyes for several weeks and could act as a way of spreading the COVID-19 disease, according new study from Italy. Scientists at Italy’s National Institute for Infectious Diseases hospital in Rome studied the symptoms of an unnamed 65-year-old woman who developed the virus after travelling from the Chinese city of from Wuhan. When the woman developed conjunctivitis – an eye infection causing redness and itchiness – doctors decided to take regular swabs from her eye. They discovered the virus remained present in “ocular samples” up to 21 days after she was admitted to hospital. The team said the findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, indicated that eye fluids from coronavirus patients “may be a potential source of infection”. The study authors said: “These findings highlight the importance of control measures, such as avoiding touching the nose, mouth, and eyes and frequent hand washing.” Read full story Source: The Independent, 24 April 2020
  20. News Article
    Herefordshire clinicians injected a patient in the wrong eye after a technical blunder, board papers have revealed. The Wye Valley Trust patient was injected with an antivascular endothelial growth factor to treat age-related macular degeneration. They did not come to harm as a result of the incident. The mistake occurred after the ophthalmology department deleted a poor quality image of one of the patient’s eyes. This shifted up the other images, which were stored sequentially using software called IMAGEnet6, which led to the mistake. Although initially reported as a “never event,” the incident was downgraded to a “serious incident” after a review by the Herefordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). The trust, which is still using the software, is updating its standard operating procedure and has installed new technology that can take higher quality images. A spokesman said: “Patient safety is the trust’s priority. While no harm was caused to this patient, the trust has taken this incident seriously.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 21 January 2020
  21. News Article
    Delays to follow-up appointments for glaucoma patients leaves them at risk of sight loss, the Healthcare Investigation Safety Branch (HSIB) warns in their new report. The report highlights the case of a 34-year old woman who lost her sight as a result of 13 months of delays to follow-up appointments. Lack of timely follow-up for glaucoma patients is a recognised national issue across the NHS. Research suggests that around 22 patients a month will suffer severe or permanent sight loss as a result of the delays. In HSIB’s reference case, the patient saw seven different ophthalmologists and the time between her initial referral to hospital eye services (HES) and laser eye surgery was 11 months. By this time her sight had deteriorated so badly, she was registered as severely sight impaired. The investigation identified that there is inadequate HES capacity to meet demand for glaucoma services, and that better, smarter ways of working should be implemented to maximise the current capacity. The report makes several safety recommendations focused on the management and prioritisation of appointments. Helen Lee, RNIB Policy and Campaigns Manager, said: “This report has brought vital attention to a serious and dangerous lack of specialist staff and space in NHS ophthalmology services across the country. We know that thousands of patients in England are experiencing delays in time-critical eye care appointments, which is leading to irreversible sight loss for some." “Without immediate action, the situation will only continue to deteriorate as the demand for appointments increases. RNIB urges full and immediate implementation of the recommendations set out in this report to improve the capacity, efficiency and effectiveness of ophthalmology services.” Read full story Source: HSIB, 9 January 2020
  22. News Article
    East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust has adopted artificial intelligence (AI) to test the health of patient’s eyes. In collaboration with doctors at the trust, the University of Kent has developed AI computer software able to detect signs of eye disease. Patients will benefit from a machine-based method that compares new images of the eye with previous patient images to monitor clinical signs and notify the doctor if their condition has worsened. Nishal Patel, an Ophthalmology Consultant at the Trust and teacher at the University said: “We are seeing more and more people with retinal disease and machines can help with some of the capacity issues faced by our department and others across the country." “We are not taking the job of a doctor away, but we are making it more efficient and at the same time helping determine how artificial intelligence will shape the future medicine. By automating some of the decisions, so that stable patients can be monitored and unstable patients treated earlier, we can offer better outcomes for our patients.” Read full story Source: National Health Executive, 22 November 2019
  23. Content Article
    Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) is designed to improve the quality of care within the NHS by reducing unwarranted variations. By tackling variations in the way services are delivered across the NHS, and by sharing best practice between trusts, GIRFT identifies changes that will help improve care and patient outcomes, as well as delivering efficiencies such as the reduction of unnecessary procedures and cost savings.
  24. Content Article
    Diabetic eye screening (DESP) is a national programme which is designed to pick up changes in the retina, at the back of the eye, in people with diabetes. These changes, known as diabetic retinopathy, are usually detected long before eyesight is affected. The goal of screening is to find people with sight threatening retinopathy, so that advice and treatment can be offered to prevent sight loss, as diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading causes of blindness in the UK. In this presentation, Dr Elizabeth Wilkinson, Clinical Lead Devon DESP, discusses harm in diabetic eye screening,what a clinical harm review is and communication, including Duty of Candour.
  25. Content Article
    The need for social distancing midst the COVID-19 pandemic has forced ophthalmologists to innovate with telemedicine. The novel process of triaging emergency ophthalmology patients via video consultations should reduce hospital attendances. However, the safety profile of such services were unknown.  This study, published by EClinicalMedicine, demonstrates comparable patient safety of video consultations at one-month follow-up to in person review and found the service to be acceptable to patients and to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Authors propose that video consultations are effective and desirable as a tool for triage in ophthalmology.
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