08 May 2025
Newmedica has appointed a new lead for glaucoma who brings experience from a combined optometry and ophthalmology background.
Richard Stead is a consultant partner at Newmedica Nottingham and has been a substantive consultant at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham since 2015.
Stead has a BSc (Hons) optometry from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree from the University of Leicester, along with a fellowship exam of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists qualification (FRCOphth).
In addition, Stead has a Glaucoma fellowship from Birmingham Midland Eye Centre.
Commenting on the level of patient need, Stead said: “The increasing demand for glaucoma care presents a significant challenge to the health service, often leading to appointment delays and potential vision loss.”
In collaborating with NHS trusts, Newmedica can address the backlog, he added, suggesting that the model “ensures an efficient pathway for glaucoma patients to receive timely assessment and treatment, thereby alleviating pressure on hospital services.”
Aligned to NICE guidelines, Newmedica offers selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT) as a first-line treatment, and also provides minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) in conjunction with cataract surgery where this is clinically indicated and commissioned.
Newmedica Nottingham receives primary referrals, managing patients with mild to moderate glaucoma and implementing both SLT and MIGS, with Stead suggesting that the latter has the potential to prevent the need for “more complex glaucoma surgeries in the future.”
The company suggested that by managing lower-risk glaucoma cases, it aims to mitigate disease progression and reduce the numbers of patients reaching high-risk stages.
Newmedica highlighted the importance of community optometry in continuity of care and its close collaboration with trained glaucoma optometrists.
Discussing the consultant-led structure, Stead shared: “Building those community relationships is a fundamental part of our ethos. The accessibility of High Street community providers alongside our model is key to the long-term management of glaucoma, thus preserving and saving many peoples sight in the future.”
“This will alleviate the pressures within the already stretched NHS services and social care provisions,” he added.
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