07 April 2015
The redesigned keratoconus service at Moorfields Eye Hospital has performed 1,000 corneal cross-linking (CXL) treatments.
As the first trust in London to offer NHS patients CXL, established the service in October 2012. Following high patient demand, the trust realised that it needed to rethink the provision of the service to allow it to treat a higher volume of patients ,and subsequently redesigned it.
Led by consultant ophthalmologist Bruce Allan and corneal research fellow Dan Gore, the pair redesigned the service to provide an integrated, multidisciplinary pathway which improves access for patients and delivers significant value in terms of high quality outcomes and reduced costs.
The pathway includes an optometrist-delivered keratoconus clinic, pooled CXL operating lists and the UK’s first nurse-led CXL service.
Keratoconus causes significant visual loss and affects up to 1 in 450 young people. CXL is the first treatment which has been proven to halt its progression.
The milestone 1,000th procedure was performed on biomedical student Gyan Sooriyakhantha, who discovered his sight was in danger during a routine visit to his local opticians for contact lenses.
Congratulating Moorfields on its 1000th treatment, trustee of the UK Keratoconus Group, Anne Klepacz, said: "We congratulate Moorfields on this achievement. CXL is a sight-saving treatment for young people with keratoconus, which sadly is only available on the NHS at a very few hospitals in the UK. The service which has been set up at Moorfields is therefore invaluable.”
As the first trust in London to offer NHS patients CXL, established the service in October 2012. Following high patient demand, the trust realised that it needed to rethink the provision of the service to allow it to treat a higher volume of patients ,and subsequently redesigned it.
Led by consultant ophthalmologist Bruce Allan and corneal research fellow Dan Gore, the pair redesigned the service to provide an integrated, multidisciplinary pathway which improves access for patients and delivers significant value in terms of high quality outcomes and reduced costs.
The pathway includes an optometrist-delivered keratoconus clinic, pooled CXL operating lists and the UK’s first nurse-led CXL service.
Keratoconus causes significant visual loss and affects up to 1 in 450 young people. CXL is the first treatment which has been proven to halt its progression.
The milestone 1,000th procedure was performed on biomedical student Gyan Sooriyakhantha, who discovered his sight was in danger during a routine visit to his local opticians for contact lenses.
Congratulating Moorfields on its 1000th treatment, trustee of the UK Keratoconus Group, Anne Klepacz, said: "We congratulate Moorfields on this achievement. CXL is a sight-saving treatment for young people with keratoconus, which sadly is only available on the NHS at a very few hospitals in the UK. The service which has been set up at Moorfields is therefore invaluable.”
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