Eye Units should send copies of CVI forms for epidemiological analysis
13 August 2020
The Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) is the key data source for the preventable sight loss indicator. Where consent has been given by the patient (or the parent or guardian if the patient is a child), a copy of the CVI form should be sent to Moorfields Eye Hospital for epidemiological analysis. These figures are reported to Public Health England.
The eye clinic should send a copy of pages 1 to 6 of the CVI form for epidemiological analysis via nhs.net secure e-mail to meh-tr.CVI@nhs.net or via post to: The Royal College of Ophthalmologists c/o Certifications Office, Moorfields Eye Hospital, City Road, London EC1V 2PD
Please use secure NHS email where possible instead of posting hard copies of the CVI! Please note that you have to use your @nhs.net account. Emailing from an NHS email address (one that ends in @nhs.net) to another @nhs.net email address is secure.
Where the patient has given consent, copies of the CVI should be sent to the patient’s GP (via nhs.net secure email accounts if possible), and to the local authority or an organisation working on their behalf, within 5 working days of its completion as stated in the Care and Support Statutory Guidance. Doing this electronically is the preferred method. E-mail should only be used to send copies to the relevant local authority and the patient’s GP via secure e-mail accounts.
More information about email addresses which meet the same high accreditation and security standards as NHSmail (gov.uk for selected local authorities) as well as sending sensitive information to non-secure email addresses on NHS Digital website:
https://digital.nhs.uk/services/nhsmail/guidance-for-sending-secure-email
Please contact your IT department if you have any questions about secure emailing or setting up NHS.net account.
It is possible for some non-NHS organisations to set up NHS mail accounts if patient identifiable information is routinely exchanged. If you are unable to resolve an NHSmail issue with your local IT Team, you can contact the national NHS mail helpdesk 24 hours a day, 365 days a year: 0333 200 1133 helpdesk@nhs.net