EyesWise: leading transformation in ophthalmology
15 April 2019
More than two million people have reduced vision in the UK. There are nearly eight million appointments every year in hospital eye services in England, making ophthalmology one of the largest outpatient specialties.
EyesWise is a project led by NHS England’s Elective Care Transformation Programme (ECTP) in collaboration with The Royal College of Ophthalmologists that encourages new ways of working by eye services. It builds on work that has taken place in all hospital eye services in England since May 2018, to deliver the ECTP’s High Impact Intervention for Ophthalmology.
EyesWise aims to save sight and improve lives, by supporting local ophthalmology services to make changes that ensure that people who need to see an ophthalmology specialist get care as quickly and easily as possible.
So far, the Elective Care Transformation Programme has:
- established an EyesWise Virtual Development Collaborative, bringing together commissioners, providers and clinical leads from across the country. They are working together to share learning, address issues and find solutions to problems in real time
- established the online EyesWise Hub which brings together useful resources and good practice, providing an easy way to collaborate and to communicate with others working to transform ophthalmology services.
- started working with five local systems – Greater Manchester, Kettering, Southampton, Brighton and Hove, and the area covered by Central Middlesex Hospital – to introduce virtual clinics for glaucoma. Virtual clinics enable diagnostic information to be gathered without the need for patients to travel to a hospital. It is reviewed by a specialist and patients are called in for a face-to-face appointment only if necessary. This ensures that the people most at risk of sight loss get faster treatment, and saves others unnecessary journeys.
All with an interest in transforming ophthalmology are invited to find out more about these projects by:
- joining the webinars and
- joining the Elective Care Community of Practice, an online interactive platform, and take part in discussions on the EyesWise Hub
EyesWise Hub: To sign up for the EyesWise Hub, please email ECDC-manager@future.nhs.uk
Webinars
The first webinar is on Wednesday 24 April 2019 (13:00-14:30). It will focus on:
- introducing the EyesWise Virtual Development Collaborative and the EyesWise Hub
- showcasing existing great practice in virtual clinics from systems that have already made the change
- sharing top tips and considerations to inspire and assist the pilot sites
- evaluation of the 2018/19 High Impact Intervention.
Please share in advance any questions you would like to raise at the webinar by emailing england.electivecare@nhs.net
To access the webinar please click on the link below (there is no requirement to pre-register):
Future EyesWise Virtual Development Collaborative webinars will be taking place on:
There is no requirement to pre-register.
If you are interested in joining the webinars, please add these dates to your calendars. All recordings and supporting slides will be uploaded to the EyesWise Hub.