Optos attends the second annual Westminster Eye health Day
Optos recently attended the second Westminster Eye Health Day organised by #TheEyesHaveIt calling for better eye care services, more comprehensive eye checks to prevent avoidable eye disease, and solutions to long waiting times for treatment.
A proposed National Plan for Eye Care in England would see clear goals and targets set which support local decision-making with national accountability so that everyone can access the right care, where and when they need it. Attendees on the day discussed the UK Government’s prioritisation of ‘ABCD’: ambulances, backlogs, care and doctors and dentists, and the need for more focus for a national plan for eye care in England.
Melanie Hingorani from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists explained: “Our hospitals are overwhelmed with delays and backlogs, yet we have a huge amount of expertise and thousands of professionals in primary care optometry who could deliver a lot of the care and relieve the burden. We are very hospital and doctor dependent when we don’t need to be.
“There are many different models such as community diagnostic hubs where patients could have high throughput tests, which can be reported in a virtual clinic where a doctor or decision-making nurse or optometrist can look at the data and make a decision taken on numerical data like pictures and scans of the back of the eye, for example.”
Dr Peter Hampson of the Association of Optometrists (AOP), demonstrated to attendees how using Optos advanced retinal imaging technology could have a significant impact on improving community-led care and help reduce backlogs in hospitals.
Optos technology enables eyecare professionals to discover, diagnose, document, and treat ocular pathology that may first present in the periphery, such as retinal detachments and tears, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration. This type of retinal imaging takes less than a second to complete and can detect issues earlier than in traditional eye examinations.
The unique Optos design enables fast, effective image capture from a safe distance and on the same device.
Each device provides a 200° ultra-widefield (UWF™) retinal image called an optomap® which allows practitioners to see 85% of the retina in a single capture, opposed to a traditional fundus camera which only shows around 15%.
Capturing the image takes less than one second, saving both patients’ and practitioners’ time. The images also allow patients to quickly see what has been captured, making any discussions around diagnosis or treatment easier.
Event attendees were offered the opportunity to have their eyes imaged on the Daytona – the most widely used UWF™ imaging device in the UK.
Regional Sales Manager at Optos, Oliver Trees who assisted with imaging said: “Our involvement in the Westminster Eye health Day is part of our commitment to help patients and healthcare providers detect eye problems at an early stage.
“Having advanced imaging like optomap can also enhance pathology detection and disease management and improve clinic flow. We’re committed to continually developing our offering to save the sight of as many people as possible, and hope the Parliament revaluates the importance of eye health. We need to prioritising investment and education with both customers and providers and maximise the benefits of advanced imaging technology.”
Also attending was the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, Will Quince.
He said: “[My role as a minister] is to ensure that the secretary of state takes as much interest in optometry and ophthalmology as she does in pharmacy, in dentists and doctors.”
The event was in partnership with Roche, Macular Society, Fight for Sight, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists, Association of Optometrists and RNIB.
AOP Councillor, Tushar Majithia, with Oliver Trees, at #theeyeshaveit pledge board
Contact us today to learn more about the benefits that optomap technology can bring to your practice or clinical setting.