New service for people in West Suffolk with diabetes

August 23 2002

Thousands of people with diabetes will benefit from the launch this month of a mobile diabetic eye screening service throughout West Suffolk.

It is a Suffolk West Primary Care Trust (PCT) initiative and could result in some people, who would otherwise go blind, having their sight saved. Key to the project is a state-of-the-art digital camera which takes photographs of the retina, the light-sensitive membrane at the back of the eye.  These images are carefully looked at to determine whether there are any changes to the retina as a result of diabetes.

A newly-appointed team of screeners will take the camera around West Suffolk so that the 6,000 adults with diabetes registered at the 30 GP practices in Suffolk West PCT area will benefit from an annual eye check.

Diabetes is the single biggest cause of preventable blindness in the working age population of the UK and people with the condition are recommended to have their eyes screened every year. A disease called retinopathy, which causes haemorrhaging at the back of the eye, can result in blindness but can be prevented, and also treated successfully, if people with diabetes are screened regularly.

Dr John Clark, consultant diabetologist at West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds, said the initiative would result in a far better service for people with diabetes.

“The purchase of a digital eye camera is a significant step forward in the care of patients with diabetes,” he said.

“Currently, some people with diabetes have an annual eye check at the West Suffolk Hospital, some go to their GP and others to high street opticians.  However, specialist digital cameras, which have only been available for the past four to five years, are the gold standard of eye checks for retinopathy.”

Mr Andrew Ramsay, a consultant ophthalmologist appointed by West Suffolk Hospital to oversee the service, estimated that between 30 and 50 people with diabetes in West Suffolk go blind every year as a result of retinopathy.

“The real tragedy is that I see people with advanced retinopathy who have never been screened before,” he said. “If we can get to them early enough, there is a good chance that we can save their sight.”

Specialist equipment at West Suffolk Hospital has been upgraded so that people with diabetes under the care of Mr Ramsay can have their eyes investigated at the hospital by a more sophisticated digital camera. This means that, potentially, patients can be reviewed and treated on the same day.

The West Suffolk mobile eye screening service will be the first of its kind in Suffolk although there are already a few similar services in other rural areas of the UK, including Norfolk. Unlike some of the others, people in West Suffolk will be screened inside the comfort of their GP surgery.

As part of the initiative, GPs throughout West Suffolk have been compiling registers of their patients with diabetes so that they can become more efficient and systematic about inviting them for an annual eye check.

Dr Andrew Cornish, a GP at the Christmas Maltings surgery, Haverhill, said the initiative would result in all people with diabetes across West Suffolk having access to the same, highest quality service.

“We are always keen to work in partnership with West Suffolk Hospital and the new eye-screening service is entirely patient-focused. It is an excellent collaboration and will provide a seamless service across primary and secondary care.”

Any patients unable to attend the screening session at their GP's practice will be given an opportunity to go to another surgery locally.

The £30,000 cost of the digital camera and computer software and the £30,000 cost of ancillary equipment, including the van needed to transport it, is being met by Suffolk West PCT. The program is being run by Richard Dewhirst as Head of the Diabetic Eye Screening Service, and has employed two full-time retinal screeners to go into the community.

If necessary, referrals will be made to eye specialists at West Suffolk Hospital. Retinopathy can be avoided or treated by managing the diabetes more effectively or by using medication to reduce blood pressure. In some cases, laser surgery will be needed.  This bold, new initiative will replace the existing system of diabetic eye screening at West Suffolk Hospital andwill be far more convenient for all patients.

Note: Suffolk West PCT was formed on 1 April, 2002, from the merger of West Suffolk Borders and Bury St Edmunds PCGs. It serves a population of 218,000, has an annual budget of about £145m and includes GP practices in Barrow, Botesdale, Brandon, Bury St Edmunds, Glemsford, Great Cornard, Haverhill, Hopton, Ixworth, Lakenheath, Long Melford, Mildenhall, Newmarket, Sudbury, Wickhambrook and Woolpit.