York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals (YSTH) NHS FT, has invested £1.1million in specialist equipment for their eye service – based at York Community Stadium. The spending will include £800k on specialist equipment, and £300k on fitting out the vision alleys, as well as treatment, injections and waiting rooms.
The service, which will be supported and delivered by a team of specialist nurses, clinical staff, doctors and consultants, and will enable the trust to see an additional 7,000 patients a year.
The new services will be available from Monday 17 May, for patients who require regular follow-up and treatment for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), as well as intravitreal therapy.
Professor Richard Gale, Clinical Director and Consultant Ophthalmologist, at YSTH explained: “The benefit of this new location is that it allows us to significantly increase the capacity to run our intravitreal therapy (IVT) service.
“IVT services provide treatment for patients with conditions such as wet AMD, diabetic macular oedema and retinal vein occlusion - usually in the form of injections which patients usually require every four weeks.”
AMD is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK, affecting more than 600,000 people. The condition develops when abnormal blood vessels grow into the macula. These leak blood or fluid which leads to scarring of the macula and rapid loss of central vision. Patients with wet AMD need regular eye injections and, very occasionally, a light treatment called photodynamic therapy to stop their vision getting worse.
Professor Gale added: “The new facilities and equipment mean we are able to offer this invaluable service in high quality, modern, accessible premises which will improve and enhance the experience for many of our patients.”
