05 May 2016
Bristol Eye Hospital specialist treatment unit launched outside Morrisons in Cribbs Causeway
More people are now able to access eye treatment closer to home,
with the launch of a new specialist service based outside the
Morrisons supermarket in Cribbs Causeway.
The Mobile Retinal Treatment Unit gives patients from north
Bristol with certain eye conditions such as wet age-related macular
degeneration (AMD) the ability to be treated in a location more
convenient to them, whereas previously they would have had to
travel to Bristol Eye Hospital in the city centre for this regular
appointment.
It is available for patients to receive follow up care once they
have had their initial consultation and assessment at Bristol Eye
Hospital.
Since January, the mobile unit has been able to treat 90
patients per week and the number of people that will be treated
will increase to approximately 200 patients per week over the next
two to three months.
Similar services have already been successfully launched at St
Georges Medical Practice in Worle and out of South Bristol
Community Hospital, with hopes to expand to other locations in the
future.
This has been made possible by Bristol Eye Hospital's
multi-disciplinary team partnering with Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK
Ltd, bringing together resources to improve patient care.
Clare Bailey, a consultant ophthalmologist at the Bristol Eye
Hospital, said:
"It's fantastic that we've been able to bring this mobile unit
to the north of the city, modernising our services further and
broadening the area where Bristol Eye Hospital are able to provide
treatment .
"Many of our patients with retinal disorders need to attend
monthly appointments for their ongoing care, so this will make it
easier for them as they can be assessed and treated on the same
day.
"Morrisons have been wonderfully supportive in allowing us to
use their location for our outreach clinic, meaning we can treat an
increasing number of patients closer to home while providing the
specialist care of the Bristol Eye Hospital."
Dimitrios Georgiopoulos MD, Chief Scientific
Officer of Novartis Pharmaceuticals UK Ltd, said:
"The launch of this new service in Bristol is
the result of Novartis' ongoing successful collaboration with
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust.
"By working closely with the team at the Bristol
Eye Hospital we've helped develop the Mobile Retinal Treatment
Unit, enabling local patients to be assessed and treated in a
timely manner.
"At Novartis we are committed to working with
the NHS to address the challenges facing eye care. We work in
partnership to develop services which deliver greater accessibility
for patients, increase capacity to meet demand and provide a more
efficient use of resources."
Photo
accredited to Richard McDonough
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