Eye Infirmary hailed in national report
the suggested target of eight.
Staff are also praised for their “very high standard of teamwork” in maintaining the flow of patients and providing continuity of care at the hospital.
Consultant Ophthalmologist Mr Jean-Pierre Danjoux, South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust’s clinical director for ophthalmology, said: “For Sunderland Eye Infirmary to be singled out by the GIRFT report is a fabulous reflection of the dedication and hard work of all the staff, working together as a team to deliver high quality care.”
The report recommends that all Trusts perform routine cataract surgery in 30 minutes or less, allowing more patients to have visionrestoring treatment and making the best use of hospital theatre time.
Around 400,000 cataract operations were carried out in England during 2018, making it the most common surgical procedure in the NHS.
If all Trusts were able to treat eight cataract patients on a four-hour theatre list, it could create an additional 26,500 hours of theatre time – 53,000 more operations a year.
If all Trusts were able to perform to the standards of excellence at Sunderland Eye Infirmary, as highlighted in the report, this figure would increase even further.
The latest GIRFT report – the 10th from the national programme which aims to improve the quality of care by bringing efficiencies and improvements–seekstoaddress the widely-acknowledged challenge of rising demand for ophthalmology services due to an ageing population.
Ophthalmology is already one of the busiest specialties in the NHS, carrying out 6% of all operations and booking more than 7.5m outpatient appointments across 120 Trusts.
Demand is predicted to increase by more than 50% over the next 20 years.