Read the latest RCOphth news updates and guidance here.
Mel Hingorani is RCOphth Honorary Secretary and Joint Clinical Lead of the National Eye Care Recovery and Transformation Programme (NECRTP) and is a consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital. In this article, she reflects in her College capacity on what has been achieved by the programme so far and what still needs to happen.
With public satisfaction in the NHS falling amid rising waiting times and staff shortages, RCOphth President Professor Bernie Chang outlines the urgent need to increase ophthalmology workforce capacity alongside investing in recovery services.
RCOphth President Professor Bernie Chang explains the positive action being taken by NHS England through its cataract specification, which the College has supported to develop.
The National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow scheme is run by the Faculty of Medical Leadership & Management (FMLM) and places fellows at a national healthcare-affiliated host organisation for a full-time 12-month position. The scheme is designed to develop skills in leadership, management, strategy, project management, and health policy. For those of you interested in a portfolio career, this interest area is an alternative to the traditional routes of research and teaching.
A joint parliamentary select committee report published yesterday has assessed some of the key decisions the UK has taken during the pandemic and lessons that needed to be learnt. While acknowledging there were some areas where the UK performed well, such as vaccine development and rollout, the report overall is very critical of the UK approach. These criticisms include ‘a degree of groupthink’ on the initial decisions taken on lockdowns and social distancing and stopping community testing early in the pandemic being a ‘serious mistake’. The report also importantly emphasised that a lack of NHS capacity was a significant problem.
The RCOphth believes that everyone should be treated with respect, supported and encouraged to do their best. NHS staff, at all levels, should work in an environment and culture of learning and improving to maintain high standards of patient care.
The 2021/22 Priorities and Operational Planning Guidance published in March by NHS England and NHS Improvement has for the first time prioritised eyecare services along with cardiac and musculoskeletal services. This work is being driven through the National Eye Care Recovery and Transformation (NECRT) Programme.
We asked Professor Peter Shah (BSc (Hons), MB ChB, FRCOphth, FRCP Edin, MA (Distinction), Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon, University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham Institute for Glaucoma Research, Institute of Translational Medicine, UHB. Visiting Professor at University College London, Honorary Professor of Glaucoma, Centre for Health & Social Care Improvement, University of Wolverhampton and President of the UK and Eire Glaucoma Society, to write a piece for the college for World Glaucoma Week.
The NHS Long Term Plan set out NHS England and NHS Improvement’s ambition to transform outpatient appointments.
In 2020 the college decided to postpone the Annual Congress due to the COVID19 pandemic. Sunil Mamtora, an ophthalmologist in training and host of the Eye to Eye podcast, recorded a Special Series of episodes called “The Congress that wasn’t”. These include talks from speakers that were due to present at the 2020 Congress.
