News & Views

The Certificate of Vision Impairment (CVI) is the key data source for the preventable sight loss indicator.

With the pandemic continuing to affect the way primary and secondary eye care services are provided for patients in England, The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) and The College of Optometrists have developed a joint vision to support our workforce and the commissioning of safe and sustainable eye care services that meet the needs of all patients, improving patient care and outcomes during and beyond the pandemic.

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.

We continue to work in uncertain times and the threat of a ‘second wave’ of the pandemic remains a possibility. We also know that this is likely to be compounded by the winter pressures placed on the system. We all have to be vigilant, be prepared and support our services to the best of our capabilities.

In this episode we hear from Nimish Shah, the regional diabetic screening lead for Bath and North East Somerset. He talks to us about how COVID-19 affected the running of the diabetic screening service.

The General Medical Council (GMC) has launched its national training survey.

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 Royal College of Ophthalmologists is deeply concerned about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on academic ophthalmology, research and innovation in ophthalmology and vision sciences.

In this episode we hear from Vidushi Golash, a trainee from the Kent, Surrey and Sussex deanery about her experiences of setting up and running virtual consultations for Oculoplastics patients.

Remote consultations have been given additional impetus by the COVID-19 emergency and are almost certainly one of the changes in practice that is here to stay. The advantages for the patient in terms of access are obvious, and video meeting platforms are now part of our daily lives.