Martin McKibbin appointed Clinical Lead for the new AMD Audit
8 October 2020
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has committed to a three year project to develop an AMD national audit, supported by funding from the Macular Society for the first six months.
We are delighted to announce Martin McKibbin, leading AMD specialist, St. James’s University Hospital, Leeds as Clinical Lead. Martin was the AMD lead for the feasibility audits produced by the National Ophthalmology Database on behalf of the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership and was a co-author of the College AMD audit dataset.
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) remains a leading cause of sight impairment despite new treatment options. The successful audit to assess the feasibility of a national AMD audit, involved 32 centres and demonstrated visual acuity gains during the first 12 months of treatment. The audit also identified variation in visual acuity outcomes between centres and differences in baseline characteristics and key clinical care processes. The new national audit of AMD treatment outcomes will cover England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Martin said, ‘Trusts and other providers commit a huge amount of effort and resource to meeting the growing demand for intra-vitreal injection for AMD and other retinal diseases. We all feel that we are providing high quality care and good clinical outcomes but have little opportunity to compare local outcomes with other sites. The planned national AMD audit will enable providers to compare outcomes, taking into account differences in baseline characteristics, and to identify the key clinical care processes.’
The next step for the AMD NOD Audit is to recruit for membership of the Advisory Group to support the work of the audit. The Advisory Group will scrutinise the AMD audit’s progress against agreed milestones and deliverables. For more information on the applying for a role on the Advisory Group, see the application process here.
Martin concludes, ‘I am looking forward to the opportunities the AMD audit will bring in adopting best practice and, where necessary, to re-design local care pathways. This will help ensure that we get the best possible outcomes and provide cost-effective care. Patients will be reassured that every centre is providing high-quality care.’