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Refined glaucoma referral practice offers prospect of improved capacity and expanded role for primary eye care professionals

Glaucoma is the most frequent cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and the second leading cause of blindness in the UK [1,2]. The global prevalence of glaucoma in 2010 was approximately 3.5% for people aged 40-80 years, according to Jonas et...

NICE drugs: an update on what’s good to go

Treatment options recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) must be readily available for use in the NHS of England and Wales. This article provides an overview of recent guidance from NICE and summary advice issued...

Emerging developments in dry eye

An estimated 344 million people worldwide suffer from dry eye [1]. This chronic syndrome is characterised by a vicious cycle of tear film hyperosmolarity, tear instability and corneal stress, leading to increased friction, inflammation, ocular surface damage and decreased visual...

Brexit, for richer, for poorer: prospects for post-withdrawal Britain

The people of the United Kingdom voted by 52% to 48% to leave the European Union (EU) in June 2016, a referendum decision intended by a slim majority to restore national self-determination and achieve what many believed to be a...

Refraction planning in cataract: avoid creating an unhappy patient

“It is much more important to know what sort of a patient has a disease than what sort of a disease a patient has.” William Osler The focus of this paper is the prevention of an unhappy patient following cataract...

The Real Top Gun: Professor Steve Schallhorn

Steve Schallhorn: Fighter Pilot. In the spring of 1987, I travelled to the cinema at Hendon Central in London with some school friends to watch the newly released movie The Witches of Eastwick starring Jack Nicholson and Michelle Pfeiffer. Unfortunately...

Paediatric optic disc anomalies

Anomalies of the optic nerve are relatively rare, but account for a significant proportion of sight impairment in children and adults. The recognition of these anomalies by eye health professionals is important not only due to their potential impact on...