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The Eye Health Network – an ‘optometry-first’ approach to eye care

Historically, in NHS Grampian, ophthalmology and optometry worked separately, with even the process of optometry referral to hospital occurring only at the behest of the patient’s general practitioner (GP). Criteria for referral were not discussed and feedback after referral was...

Addressing medical risk factors for diabetes and understanding the new systemic treatments

As global diabetes figures continue to rise, the importance of reducing the burden of macrovascular and microvascular complications of diabetes has never been so great. By 2025 it is estimated that five million people in the UK will have diabetes...

Management of proliferative diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is a major cause of blindness in the working-age population. Due to the worsening global epidemic of diabetes, the incidence of morbidity caused by the disease is set to increase [1]. The prevalence of diabetes in the UK...

Developing community eye care: the GOS package in Scotland

In the second in the series about community eye care in the home nations, Janet Pooley explains how Scotland has developed its services within GOS. The United Kingdom has devolved healthcare; the powers were transferred from Westminster to Scotland and...

My experience of the transition into a specialist orthoptist role

Michelle Dent discusses the process of transitioning into a new role and the pros and cons along the way. An opportunity arose for a permanent, full time, band 7 specialist role in the medical retina (MR) team in the Newcastle...

Blinking blepharitis has a lot to answer for…

Never ignore the small things’…someone once said. There is no doubt blepharitis is one of the most common eye conditions encountered daily, but with the typical pressures of a busy outpatient department, the management of more obvious, sight-threatening conditions necessarily...

VISION 2020 LINKS: Retinoblastoma 
in Africa

The VISION 2020 LINKS Programme is part of the ‘VISION 2020: The Right to Sight’ global initiative to eliminate avoidable blindness [1]. The LINKS Programme works with overseas eye departments to help identify priorities and match their priority needs with...

Retinoblastoma management update (part 1): clinical features, diagnosis and genetics

The first of a two part series, this article will discuss the clinical features, diagnosis and genetic aspects of retinoblastoma. Manoj Parulekar is based at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, one of the two designated national retinoblastoma and paediatric ocular oncology treatment...

Retinoblastoma management update (part 2): treatment, screening and surveillance, long-term follow-up and new developments

Retinoblastoma treatment requires significant multidisciplinary input, but early detection through raising awareness remains key to improving outcomes. In the second article of a two-part series, Manoj Parulekar discusses retinoblastoma management, screening and research. This article has been published in two...

Tackling diabetic retinopathy globally through the VISION 2020 LINKS Diabetic Retinopathy Network

It is abundantly clear that the burden of diabetes is rapidly increasing, as there are now 415 million adults with diabetes in the world, with a projected rise to 642 million by 2040 [1]. This equates to 1 in 10...

VISION 2020 LINKS Programme: Reviewing the first ten years and announcing the new diabetic retinopathy initiative

The VISION 2020 LINKS Programme celebrates its 10th anniversary next month. Over the past decade it has achieved its objective of building capacity for eye care in developing countries, particularly in Africa, by establishing long-term training partnerships between institutions, known...

Increasing access to eye care through community outreach clinics in Uganda

There has been a VISION 2020 LINK between Mulago Hospital and Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and the Royal Free Hospital, London, since 2010. There have been regular training visits between teams from the eye departments at Mulago and the...