Tom Mackley

And super powerful quotes from patients who have contacted the @glaucoma_uk helpline, from Joanne Creighton. Clinicians need these reminders.

Really impressed with todays UKEGS session on “Patients First”. After lots of technical talk about surgery we turned to focus on the importance of good clinical leadership, shared decision making, and mental health of glaucoma patients. Essential.

At the U.K. & Eire Glaucoma Society Conference (UKEGS) with @EyecareServices with two posters showing our data on the efficacy of glaucoma referral filtering pathways in primary care. Looking forward to an excellent agenda and seeing colleagues, including from LTHT

Eye tests aren't just for buying glasses. You could lose up to 40% of your vision from glaucoma without realising. Eye tests can detect it early, protecting your sight. Don't wait - book your eye test now. Learn about glaucoma diagnosis here: buff.ly/3hQtWvf #EyeWeek

Today's @myvisionmatters theme is dedicated to 'Enhanced Primary Eye Care Services.' The combination of an ageing population and technological advancements means that optometry is experiencing its highest demand to date. As one of the four key pillars of primary care, optometry plays a vital role in benefitting the wider NHS by alleviating GP and hospital pressures, reducing health inequalities and utilising the Making Every Contact Count initiative. For more on this, see here - buff.ly/4diMTTk As well, throughout the day we will be sharing our services and how they directly benefit our community. #visionmatters #NEHW #ThinkOptometry

If you, your child or someone you care gif hasn’t had a sight test in the last 2years. It’s time to book a sight test.

This week is National Eye Health Week @myvisionmatters. People with learning disabilities are more likely to experience sight issues, so we have lots of helpful resources on getting an eye test seeability.org/eye-care/eye-t…

An estimated 50% of sight loss is avoidable. That’s why it’s essential for people to have their eyesight tested regularly and, if there’s a problem, get the help they need. Let us know about your eye care experiences. #ShareForBetterCare bit.ly/eye-care-survey

#Sustainability of #primarycare across all four pillars (#GeneralPractice/#Dentistry/#CommunityPharmacy/ #Optometry) is critical to the future of the #NHS. Contract and commissioning reform as well as appropriate funding is key for all of #primarycare. @NHS_GM @NHSEngland @wesstreeting @rankine @TraceyVell @TheBMA

There is an eye health care emergency in England due to the last Tory Govt breaking our #NHS. Ophthalmology is the busiest outpatient service making up 10% of the entire NHS waiting list. I asked the new Secretary of State to meet to discuss how we can tackle the Tory crisis in eye health.

@GiveBloodNHS No thanks. Of course, there was a tiny risk I’d feint (for the first time ever) and the kids would be unattended for a few minutes. So what? The service has spent too much time thinking of good reasons to decline donations and waste everyone’s time.

@optomackley We are so sorry to hear of this, Tom. We can certainly pass this on to the relevant team to discuss further. If you would like us to do this please send us a DM with your full name, date of birth first line of address and suitable contact number/email address? Thanks - Leah

You’ve lost this O- @NHSBT @GiveBloodNHS. Just had another wasted journey to try & donate. Took time out of working day and bust a gut to get there, but I’ve got kids with me, so “no can do”. If you think up any more reasons for not taking a donation, you’ll have no one left.

@VirtueOfNothing Good clinical governance and service audit is the answer. A single case tells us very little. All clinicians make mistakes.

A good friend phoned the GP for a bullseye rash (example image) following a tick bite this morning, and they got 'referred' to a pharmacist by the receptionist. They prescribed an antihistamine. I guess this is the excellent state of our primary care, yeah?

@1eyeinrumney Our next poster will be on glaucoma case finding outcome figures. And finally we’ll put it all together in a paper for publication. Total impact : large.

Mirrors what #HerefordshireLOC has done since 2009. Obvious, needs national system, there are no logical local variations at all. However I would say #RepeatReadings is low key like #MECS much better to have enhanced case finding requiring minimum data set and include OCT.

@1eyeinrumney Absolutely agree @1eyeinrumney - this isn’t particularly big news to us but the large numbers (and this impact) we can now report from across multiple services were worth sharing with this audience.

@DGlaucomflecken Are you attending the ophthalmology congress?!

Made it to the University of Oxford. It’s pretty old, like at least 100 years probably.

It was wonderful to see our Clinical Leads, Tom Mackley and Dr. Amy Hughes at the Oxford Ophthalmological Congress yesterday. They presented a poster, co-authored by Dr. Anna Bhan, on the outcomes of Glaucoma Repeat Readings (GRR) Services in England from 2021 - 2024, based on a large multi-region analysis across 26 ICB areas. The study demonstrated that 68.5% of patients were discharged, avoiding onward referral to hospital eye services, based on data from over 20,000 patients seen in GRR services. You can view a copy of the poster here: t.co/z2od4LtAhi #thinkoptometry #OOC2024

@DGlaucomflecken As a British glaucoma clinician I can confirm that this is very normal and often the highlight of the job!

I have a 90 year old British patient. I’ve been seeing her for years. She is super crabby. I see her once a year and all we do is mercilessly make fun of each other for 15 minutes. It’s the best. Well this year she learned that in my free time I dress up in costume and have conversations with myself and oooh boy did she let me have it.

Feelings of anxiety are extremely common after a glaucoma diagnosis. It can throw up a lot of questions about what the future might hold. Our helpline is always here if you need to talk to someone. 💜

@kills1 @ZoeZoerichmond @eventbrite Hi Steve, would an optometrist who’s done the WOPEC training for Easy Eyecare, or the Special Schools training still benefit from doing this too?

Now booking for all optical practice staff - Tier 1 Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. Monday 29th January, Monday 5th and Thursday 8th February. Daytime and evening slots available on @eventbrite #Oliverscampaign