The new, free service launched at Optegra Eye Hospital Bradford has been created to help relieve long wait times for glaucoma treatment at local NHS Trusts. It also enables local patients to be monitored and reviewed by expert surgeons and offered treatment as necessary.
These are patients who need care from a glaucoma 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 the Trust hospital.
Optegra, based on Harrogate Road in Apperley Bridge, can now treat NHS glaucoma patients within just weeks of referral from a local optometrist.
Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness for especially for people over 60 years old. But blindness from glaucoma can often be prevented with early treatment.
Patient Mr Luay Hussein, who has accessed this service in Optegra Eye Hospital Manchester, describes the service he received: "The service I have received so far at Optegra has been excellent. I have been advised to attend the new glaucoma clinic in eight weeks and have a phone number to call if I notice any changes in my vision, which is very reassuring.
“I have yet to receive any treatment but because my condition is being closely monitored I know that any changes will be picked up quickly and I am very happy about that."
Optegra is delighted to now launch this service in Yorkshire also.
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 continue to be monitored at Optegra.
Optegra Ophthalmic Surgeon, Ms. Nihal Elghryany, explains: “Our new monitoring, review and treatment service is good news for glaucoma patients in the Yorkshire region who need to be monitored by specialists as it means speedier access to their treatment.
“The glaucoma treatment pathway varies from those whose condition is stable and low-risk, who can be regularly monitored at their community optometrist, to those who need complex trabeculectomy surgery at a Trust hospital. By supporting those patients who fall in the middle we are also helping to relieve Trust waiting lists for glaucoma treatment.”
Glaucoma is called the “silent thief of sight, most people with glaucoma don’t have any warning signs or symptoms, they do not notice any change in their vision until the nerve damage is quite severe and irreversible. it’s important to monitor the condition of your eyes with regular eye examinations which will help diagnose and treat this disease before you lose vision.
Carla Chappell, Hospital Manager for Optegra Eye Hospital Bradford said: “Having firmly established ourselves as eye health experts in the region – from NHS cataract surgery to NHS treatment for age-related macular degeneration and private vision correction – we are so pleased to now extend our service to NHS glaucoma patients also.
“This is a serious eye condition and has many people awaiting treatment, so we are delighted to open our doors at Apperley Bridge and provide excellent care and reassurance through regular monitoring.”
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 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.