CHEC has announced its collaboration with Scope Eyecare, a leading provider of eyecare and healthcare products. The first joint event will be a virtual CPD learning workshop on 5th October, with a second CPD event announced for 29th November. This Continuing Professional Development (“CPD”) event can be attended via Zoom and will run from 7.00 – 8.00pm. It will offer attendees the opportunity to learn more about the collaboration and gain valuable industry insight and training in eyecare and health. Discussing the collaboration, Jon Dore said, “This collaboration with Scope Eyecare allows both organisations to share our expertise and support community optometrists with their ongoing educational development. “Our upcoming virtual CPD events will prove helpful for optometrists in their day to day work and we are excited to see this partnership flourish as we plan further joint events.” The CPD event will feature renowned consultant ophthalmologist, Ms Nikolina Budimlija, as a guest speaker, who will be discussing common corneal conditions. Budimlija has over 13 years of ophthalmic experience, graduating from the University of Zagreb and training in ophthalmic surgery at the Clinical Hospital Centre, Sestre Milosrdnice, Zagreb. As an expert in her field, Nikolina has been part of the Institute of Eye Surgery (IoES) since 2019. Tom Freyne, Managing Director at Scope, also added, “We are proud to collaborate on quality education events with CHEC. We believe the rapid access to high-quality patient care for ophthalmology patients is a stand-out success factor for CHEC. They also have a strong belief in quality education for optometrists and other important HCPs in the community.” Ms Nikolina Budimlija, Consultant Ophthalmologist The collaboration is part of CHEC’s continued expansion, with the latest site in Accrington opening in November, which will be celebrated with a further virtual and in-person CPD event. The upcoming virtual CPD events follow CHEC’s CPD Open Evening Event in Northampton. Click here to register. This week, CHEC is celebrating one year since our treatment centre in Coventry opened! In the last 12 months we have treated an amazing 8,961 patients, providing a wide range of ophthalmic services: Cataract – Consultation 1611 Cataract – Herts Valley Pre Auth 1 Cataract – Operation 1590 Cataract – Virtual Pre-Assessment 65 Doctor Post Cataract Virtual 4 Doctor Post Cataract 163 Follow Up Consultation 685 Follow Up Telephone Assessment 78 General Optom 1 GVC investigation 170 Initial Appointment Telephone Assessment 135 Initial Consultation 506 Minor Op 46 OCT Assessment 402 Post Cat Telephone assessment 15 Post cataract check 20 VF Assessment 58 VF/OCT 718 Virtual Clinic Assessment 2022 wAMD – Follow Up 73 wAMD – Initial 102 wAMD – Injection 61 wAMD Monitoring 15 YAG 420 Grand total 8961 We are so proud of our hard-working staff for making our first year a great success. We had a fantastic time celebrating with our patients and are excited to see what the next year will bring in Coventry! Last week, our longest-serving Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully aged 96. Our condolences are with the Royal Family at this time. Rest in Peace Queen Elizabeth II. Monday 19th September is a state funeral, and the day has been declared a national bank holiday. At CHEC, we always put our patients first. Therefore, we have decided to continue to provide services as planned. Patients may wish to cancel or rearrange their appointment or procedure and we will manage this request. CHEC will be open as normal on 19th September, to ensure all patients have our services available. Thank you for your continued support. CHEC has announced the opening of a new treatment centre in Accrington, Lancashire. Amid rising NHS waiting lists, the centre will become an important channel for easing the backlog on elective eye care through its provision of high-quality ophthalmological treatment to the local community. The Accrington site is the latest in a run of CHEC treatment centres recently launched across the North West, including sites in Preston and Blackpool. This North Westerly expansion – part of a broader rollout of new centres across the country – will offer vital help to those communities in Lancashire and South Cumbria which are experiencing particularly severe NHS backlogs. Commenting on the new centre, Jon Dore said: “With NHS backlogs continuing to rise, the need to support the NHS in reducing wait times is clear. Our centre in Accrington will offer the NHS vital support in reducing these backlogs and ensuring that patients receive timely high-quality care. “With patient experience at the heart of all we do, we look forward to providing vital ophthalmology and endoscopy services for the local Accrington community.” Before patients begin to arrive at the centre in October, CHEC will host two CPD events to introduce the new site and showcase the support it will offer to the local community. One event will be held online and the other in-person. Attendees will also have the opportunity to attend a CPD seminar, enabling optometrists to gain valuable CPD points. In July, CHEC Slough celebrated its first anniversary. Well done to everyone involved in this success. In the past year, the hospital staff have treated 5,404 patients, helping reduce the NHS backlog. Service Count Cataract – Consultation 1418 Cataract – Herts Valley Pre Auth 3 Cataract – Operation 1543 Cataract – Virtual Pre-Assessment 194 Doctor Post Cataract Virtual 13 Doctor Post Cataract 192 Follow Up Consultation 527 Follow-Up Telephone Assessment 73 GVC Investigation 24 Initial Appointment Telephone Assessment 150 Initial Consultation 443 Minor Op 49 Post Cataract Telephone assessment 47 Post Cataract Check 85 VF/OCT 508 YAG 135 Grand Total 5404 The Slough team had a great time celebrating with patients, keep up the good work Sundeep and team! Imran Rahman, CEO and Consultant Ophthalmologist, CHEC, spoke to Chris Henson about tackling the COVID-19 backlog, community-based support for the NHS, and the digitisation of healthcare. Without major intervention, will we ever see an end to the COVID-19-induced NHS backlog, and its effects on patients waiting for surgery, within eyecare? Our healthcare system is under more pressure than ever, with the NHS currently facing record waiting lists of more than six million patients, and these are predicted to continue rising until 2024. Whilst the impact of COVID-19 has certainly exacerbated the situation, the backlog was already profound – four million people were waiting for treatment before the pandemic even started. But there are steps we can take. The government’s decision to increase funding – including a £36bn increase from National Insurance rises – is helpful, but this alone will not be enough to provide a long-term solution to this crisis. But new strategies offer hope – by adopting a shared-care partnership model, for example, community-based services will be able to step in to relieve some of the pressure on the NHS. We see this approach as absolutely key to reducing the burden on the NHS and helping ensure patients get treatment faster. What are the key effects the backlog has on patients? Are these mainly physical or psychological impacts? Research has highlighted that for every 82 patients spending between six and eight hours in A&E, one would come to avoidable harm. It’s clear, then, that backlogs are having a profound effect on patient health. This is especially true for patients who require eye care treatment – where the turnaround for surgery often needs to be quicker. For example, the NHS recommends that cataract surgery patients do not wait for more than 18 weeks for treatment, but the average wait time for cataract surgery was nine months in 2021. Research has revealed that a delay in treatment can lead to further eyesight issues and an increased risk of complications – which can have severe effects on the quality of life of patients – on mental, emotional, and physical levels. In fact, 22 patients a month lost their vision in 2021 as a result of waiting too long for surgery. Therefore, it is essential that the delivery of high-quality and efficient care for all patients is prioritised. Which community-based services can support the NHS? Community-based healthcare offers a variety of services and already provides support for around 100 million patients a year. And since community-based services have increased capacity, they are likely to be able to offer efficient and high-quality care within their communities more quickly – which can help to reduce pressure on the NHS. Community-based care supports the NHS by offering elective care in local settings. CHEC’s ophthalmology services, for example, provide essential eyecare treatments in the heart of local communities – with CHEC treating more than half a million patients waiting for eyecare services in the UK. CHEC is helping to digitise healthcare with their patient booking app – how does the app improve the patient journey? We recently launched a patient booking app as one of our key initiatives to reduce NHS backlogs. The fact that the app allows patients on-the-go access to booking appointments means that they can be seen as quickly as possible. The app also determines how urgent an appointment is by allowing patients to instantly book the best slot for them. Here at CHEC, we are always looking for new and innovative approaches to offer the best possible service to our patients. Improving the patient journey is at the heart of all we do, and with the introduction of the app, we have been able to minimise the likelihood of cancellations or missed appointments – which makes a difference to the accessibility and efficiency of our services. Do you think it will catch on around the country, and is technology the key to beating the backlog? Our world is increasingly reliant on technology, and the pandemic prompted an acceleration in the uptake of digital services across all sectors. However, a digital revolution specifically in healthcare is integral to making services accessible to all. Prioritising this will help healthcare leaders to implement more effective, and long-term, solutions to tackling backlogs. CHEC’s patient booking app is already being used by over 50% of our patients, and we have already seen how successful it has been in reducing the number of cancelled and no-show appointments within our services. If the NHS app, for example, was developed to include the option for users to book appointments with alternative services, like community-based care providers, this could make a massive difference to the current waiting times. It’s critical, however, that when increasing digital uptake, we do not overlook patients who are unable or unwilling to use technology. Many prefer to use traditional methods of communication and engagement and it’s imperative that providers recognise that. Could you tell us more about CHEC’s Home to Hospital™ transport services? A recent survey revealed that 31% of adults found it hard to access healthcare during the pandemic, so our Home to Hospital™ service is another initiative that focuses on tailoring healthcare services to meet the individual needs of patients. Our Home to Hospital™ service offers our patients transportation to and from their eyecare surgery and appointments. Our minibuses are run by local drivers who have received training to enable them to support patients before and after their appointments. The service has been particularly beneficial in making treatment and surgery more accessible for patients who are elderly, and those with disabilities. Addressing healthcare inequalities is one of our main priorities, and the Home to Hospital™ service is another example of our mission to deliver patient-focused care in action. Imran Rahman, thank you very much for speaking to Eye News. See the original article here. CHEC launches brand new endoscopy service to help ease growing NHS backlogs. CHEC has launched a new endoscopy service as it expands beyond its renowned eyecare services. These will provide high-quality and efficient services to help ease NHS backlogs which are impacting nearly half a million patients.[1] With endoscopy activity dropping by 90% since the onset of the pandemic, CHEC’s provision of endoscopy services will aid in easing this backlog and ensure patients receive the care they need.[2] The endoscopy services debuted in Nottingham on April 14th and since the launch, CHEC has been working closely with Nottingham University Hospital to deliver high-quality and efficient services. CHEC’s endoscopy facilities utilise brand new state-of-the-art equipment including endoscopes, irrigation pumps, ColoAssist, CO2 insufflator systems and have on-site decontamination and sterilisation services to ensure IPC compliance. Jon Dore, Chief Operating Officer at CHEC, commented on the opening saying: “The launch of our endoscopy services to people in Nottinghamshire is an exciting milestone for CHEC. We have worked hard to ensure that our patients will receive outstanding care, in keeping with the very high standards of care we provide to patients using our ophthalmology services.” He added: “We are confident that we can make a huge difference in bringing our efficient, bespoke services to patients in need of diagnostic endoscopy services. We also plan to expand our endoscopy services across the country, so we can further support the NHS in tackling the backlog of patients who require these critical services.” The launch of endoscopy services follows CHEC’s large-scale expansion of facilities, with new sites across the Midlands, Dorset, and Newcastle. The investment in new sites has enabled CHEC to support local communities across the country with vital healthcare services. Following CHEC’s successful launch of endoscopy services in Nottingham, it plans to expand to other locations in 2022. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/feb/06/nhs-england-waiting-times-for-cancer-referral-and-treatment-at-record-high [2] https://www.msn.com/en-gb?refurl=%2fen-gb%2fhealth%2fmedical%2fuk-could-have-thousands-of-extra-cancer-deaths-due-to-covid-delaying-500-000-endoscopies%2far-BB1eIUSa%3ffromMaestro%3dtrue CHEC has announced that it has been awarded a 3-year contract to provide community ophthalmology services across Dorset. CHEC commenced seeing patients on the 1st of April, in facilities in Bournemouth, Poundbury and Christchurch. This contract has allowed CHEC to expand its community ophthalmology offer to the South West, and increase investment in local community health services. CHEC will be working closely with the leading optometry practices across the county to deliver crucial services to local patients in need of care for minor eye conditions, glaucoma monitoring and post-cataract surgery follow-ups, making care for low to medium-risk eye conditions more accessible. Discussing CHEC’s expansion, Jon Dore said, “We will seek to further improve ophthalmology services in Dorset following the announcement of the launch of our services across the county. It is important for us to ensure patients are getting the best service possible in their local community”. “We are committed to bringing high-quality, responsive eyecare to all parts of the UK, so that it is accessible for all, and we want to give back by building long-standing partnerships that will benefit our local communities.” The new contract will help local patients access further services, such as CHEC’s free Home to Hospital™ transportation, and patients in Dorset will also be able to utilise CHEC’s brand-new booking app. The deal with NHS Dorset CCG marks CHEC’s first move into the South West, following expansions in the Midlands with new sites in Northampton, Leicester, Nottingham and Coventry, ensuring that residents across the country have access to local, high-quality care.