The Royal College of Ophthalmologists appoints a new Clinical lead for the National Cataract Audit Database (NOD)
18 March 2021
The National Ophthalmology Database (NOD) Audit has become established over the past decade and is now widely accepted as a valuable quality assurance and improvement tool with over 100 centres contributing cataract surgery data, and most UK ophthalmologists enjoying its benefits as ‘business as usual’.
John Buchan, Consultant Ophthalmologist based in Leeds, with an academic affiliation to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has accepted the post of Clinical Lead for the NOD, taking over from John Sparrow as of October 2020. The College would like to congratulate John Buchan on his appointment to lead the project, and wish to thank John Sparrow for all he has done in setting it up along with the NOD team, and developing it from an ambitious idea to the reality which it is today.
John Sparrow said “Over the past 10 years I have enjoyed working with the dedicated and excellent NOD team and enjoyed meeting with colleagues around the UK to further the work of this national audit. It is rewarding to look back on the success of the NOD audit in delivering improvements to patient care and the professional development of cataract surgeons.”
John Buchan commented, “As ophthalmologists in the UK, we are working hard to build cataract surgical services of a quality that we want to find when we ourselves develop cataracts. The NOD Cataract Audit is absolutely at the front and centre of this effort – and I am excited and feel privileged to be part of this.”
For more information about the NOD Audit, please visit www.nodaudit.org.uk
About John Buchan
John Buchan, works both as a consultant ophthalmologist in Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and as the Programme Director for the MSc Public Health for Eye Care at the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH) in the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
As well as delivering NHS cataract services, he has a specialist clinical interest in Emergency Eye Care, and is a founder member of the British Emergency Eye Care Society (www.BEECS.co.uk). He was the Principal Investigator on the RCOphth Way Forward project in 2016, identifying and disseminating progressive working practices across the UK and prior to this worked for 4 years with CBM in Sierra Leone developing eye care services based in Freetown.
His interests in an epidemiological and public health approach to ophthalmology, combined with his clinical interest in NHS cataract surgical services have led him to take up this position as Clinical Lead for the National Ophthalmology Database Cataract Audit.