Allied health professionals focus on eye care
Allied health professionals play a vital role in the delivery of high quality, patient-centred health and social care across NHS Highland. In a series of articles around AHPs Day (which was on Monday October 15), we highlight and celebrate the contribution of just two of these professionals.
Two newly graduated Band 5/6 orthoptists, Amber McGookin and Caitlin Rennie, talk about their role as AHPs and their move to the Highlands.
Amber said: ‘Orthoptics is one of the lesser-known allied health professions, but we play a significant role within the NHS. We assess, treat, diagnose and monitor visual system dysfunctions, in adults and paediatrics autonomously, or as part of a larger team with ophthalmologists, optometrists and ophthalmic nurses.
‘Orthoptists are specialists in the assessment and treatment of visual development and ocular motility, with expertise in the screening and treatment of children.
‘In NHS Highland, not only do we see patients in Raigmore, but we also have the added benefit of being able to visit other peripheral clinics throughout the Highlands and in the Western Isles.’
Caitlin said: ‘We are a small team of only eight orthoptists. As we are newly graduated we are consolidating our roles within the department and experiencing the wide variety of patients and conditions that Highland has to offer.
‘While we both have different areas that we enjoy – be that neurology, paediatrics or adults – enhancing our skills and becoming vital members within the NHSH orthoptics team is rewarding, to say the least.’
A typical day for Amber and Caitlin would see them starting work at 8.45am by verifying previously dictated letters before the clinics start at 9am.
During the clinics, they may see anyone from a 12-week-old baby whose parents are concerned she cannot see, to a four-year-old whom they have to motivate to wear an eye patch for his lazy eye, to a teenager who is struggling with close work and needs to be shown exercises to help, to a lady with thyroid eye disease, and a child who is having squint surgery the following day and requires accurate measurements so the ophthalmologist knows how much surgery to do.
Amber said: ‘We may also see a stroke survivor who has double vision, a child with complex needs to ensure they are using their vision to their best potential, or an assault victim whose eye muscles have been trapped in a facial fracture. All of these and many more.
‘If we have time, we do some of our Flying Start programme and we ensure that all our clinical administration is up to date for our 5pm finish.
‘The next day we may be off to Skye or one of the other peripheral clinics to do the same or off to a nursery school to screen every four-year-old’s vision.’
Talking about their graduation day and why they both moved to Highland, Caitlin said: ‘We graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Orthoptics in July, on a fabulously warm day, along with our fellow classmates from Glasgow Caledonian University, and we started in NHS Highland within a month.
‘We both had experience in NHS Highland on placement as part of our curriculum, so the move was not as daunting as it would be to a new department with unknown colleagues.
‘Although we are still consolidating our orthoptics knowledge from university, we are also being offered the opportunity to further enhance our skills by developing our slit lamp skills in virtual glaucoma clinics. We also hope to have the chance to broaden our skill set with extended roles in the future.’
Coming to the Highlands has been an experience.
Caitlin said: ‘The Highlands covers the largest geographical area within the whole of the UK, which allows us to travel and explore while working. We think travelling to peripheral clinics is one of the benefits of working here. The clinics are attended by many patients with a variety of conditions.
‘It can be daunting knowing that you are in such a rural environment without the full support of the eye department should anything go wrong, but it allows you to have confidence within your own practice and know you can refer when you feel the patient requires further investigations or management.
‘Patients are appreciative that we travel to see them rather than them coming all the way to us, which also improves our relationship with the patient, their attendance of clinics and allows effective care.’
And Amber said there were exciting developments afoot.
She added: ‘We are very excited for the opening of the new Elective Care Centre in Inverness which will offer elective surgery to the people of the north of Scotland and will have a new eye out-patient department. We hope this facility will allow us to further extend our roles in the state-of-the-art facilities. Also, the planned new optometry degree course at the University of Highlands and Islands may offer other opportunities including research within the university.’