News & Views

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. 

In this episode we speak with Kavita Aggarwal, an Ophthalmology Trainee from Oxford. She talks about wellbeing, how to stay healthy during the latest lockdown and provides some top tips on how to avoid burnout.

In this episode with speak with Mr. Saurabh Jain, a Consultant Ophthalmologist as well as the Training Programme Director for North London and the Clinical Lead for Ophthalmology for the Royal Free Hospital in London. We discuss his experience of coming to the UK, the level of diversity in Ophthalmology in the UK and what needs to be done to improve equality and diversity within our specialty and medicine in general.

The NHS Long Term Plan set out NHS England and NHS Improvement’s ambition to transform outpatient appointments.

In this episode we hear from Mariantonia Ferrara a Medical and Surgical Retina Fellow from Newcastle and Kerr Brogan, a Glaucoma Fellow from Glasgow, about the results from surveys that they conducted during the pandemic that investigated the impact of COVID-19 on Ophthalmologists in Training. Kirthi Varo, the Chair of the Ophthalmologists in Training Group (OTG) then shares with us an overview of the role of the OTG and its importance during these challenging times.

In this episode we hear from Nada Burgess, a trainee from West-Midlands who shares her highly personal experience of suffering from PTSD following being redeployed during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NHS has one of the most ethnically diverse workforces in the public sector. However, ethnic minority staff report worse experiences in terms of their lives and careers, when compared with white staff; people from an ethnic minority background are also under-represented in senior positions in the NHS.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists recognises the need to support a return to normal training and limit any further disruption.

In this episode, we hear from Daniel Williams, a patient with Retinitis Pigmentosa, on the benefits of sight impairment registration for patients. We also delve into coping with workplace stress and burn-out in the NHS in discussion with Surgical Spirit podcast host, The Third Eye Doctor - Dr Haidar Al-Hakim.

Commenting on the new wellbeing report released by the General Medical Council (GMC).