Joint working in Ophthalmology
The number of people in the UK suffering from sight loss is expected to double by 2050 - impacting the lives of over four million people over the next few decades.1
The challenges facing the NHS have intensified in recent years, with growing demand increasing the pressure on capacity and services. Those working in ophthalmology are particularly familiar with such difficulties.
The NHS Five Year Forward View emphasises the need for the health service to evolve to meet new challenges and take a longer view to consider the possible futures on offer, and the choices that we face.2
We share that same view in Novartis UK. We have a clear sense of purpose to work with the NHS to reduce avoidable sight loss in the UK. This purpose underpins our ‘Never Losing Sight of the Future’ programme which together with Alcon, is a testament of our commitment to eye care in the UK.
Novartis has experience of working in collaboration with the NHS to build sustainable eye health services and to address capacity challenges.
Improving patient outcomes and experience is the driving force behind our partnerships with the NHS. We have partnered with the NHS on a wide range of service improvement delivery projects to respond to changing patient needs and expand services into the heart of communities. By pooling our skills, experiences and/or resources with the NHS, we aim to ensure better patient outcomes and experience.
Mobile Community Eye Care Centre
To help provide a solution to the challenges being faced in delivering care for patients with wet AMD in one local NHS Foundation Trust, Novartis UK collaborated with the Trust to provide a dedicated mobile eye clinic. The clinic enables patients to receive treatment closer to home and has cut patient travelling times by half, helping to relieve some of the capacity issues faced by local health services.
Mobile community eye care centre.jpg
References
1. UK Vision Strategy. Tsunami of sight loss predicted by 2050. June 2012; www.ukvisionstrategy.org.uk/12-june-2012-‘tsunami’-sight-loss-predicted-2050. Accessed May 2016
2. NHS England. Five Year Forward View. October 2014. Available at: http://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5yfv-web.pdf. Last accessed May 2016