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NUH offer unique information evening for people suffering with an eye condition.
A Macular Information Evening at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) is being held on 9 August at 6pm on A floor Ophthalmology Outpatients. In the Eyes, Nose and Throat building at the Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC).
The evening will talk about the unique and specialist service for patients who have been diagnosed with or care for a relative with age related macular degeneration (AMD). NUH is the only hospital to provide this level of support to patients.
AMD is a common condition which affects the middle part of your vision and you can get it in one eye or both. It usually affects people in their 50s and 60s and can make everyday activities like reading and driving difficult.
Around 16,000 patients a year are seen in the Eye Outpatients with various conditions such as Glaucoma, Medical Retina, and corneal conditions and Age related Macula Degeneration. Those patients that are diagnosed with Macular Degeneration at the QMC are seen in the Macular department. The Macula department currently give seven thousand sight saving injections per year has recently created an additional injection room to help meet with demands.
The evening first began four years ago after Rosemarie Frier, Deputy Sister, started working with eye outpatients and wanted to offer something more to people diagnosed with this condition. She said: ‘I noticed that during the majority of my encounters with patients, they sometimes knew very little or nothing about their condition. This was something I decided I could do something about. Rosemarie stated that providing, education and information gives the patient additional confidence to manage their condition and that’s what I wanted to do.”
Originally this event happened once a year, but to meet with demand, there will be more regular events taking place. Throughout the evening, there will be presentations with information on how to live with AMD, as well as support and guidance from The Macula Society, The Head of Macula, Optometrist, (ECLO) Eye Liaison Officer and many more.
A patient who attended a previous Macular Information Evening said: “It was good to have many varied aspects of AMD drawn together and especially good to meet people with the same problems. I was very impressed with all aspects of the Macular Clinic. From the friendly and helpful receptionists to the many expert practitioners, who all took the time to listen. It was wonderful!”
The department has plans to develop a macula app to facilitate home monitoring after receiving a UK grant of 2 million pounds. As well as receiving £500,000 from NHS England to transform our service to a virtual based service, so that patients can be seen by high street optometrists for routine monitoring to help with increased demand.