Latest trends in eye health care

Project 2020 is a US initiative that implements creative means to take preventative healthcare services to the masses.

The Boston team has started with eye care and is touring businesses making it easier to get annual eye exams and basic preventive care using a mobile clinic housed in a truck.

On board there are two technicians and an optometrist to ensure an efficient process from registration to diagnosis. The service is intended to offer convenience and speed and is providing HR Managers with a great way to increase healthcare benefits for staff.

This proactive approach to eye care is particularly prominent on this side of the pond too. We have been advocates of this type of service for some time - providing mobile facilities on behalf of leading healthcare providers.

We have recently designed and fit out a mobile unit to enable Vision Express to tour the UK offering free eye tests as part of National Eye Health Week.

Our Quest Medical Trailer was adapted specially to include a partition wall to provide privacy during eye tests and dimmable lighting throughout to create the desired environment for testing. The facility met stringent NHS standards and featured a spacious, welcoming reception area and a DDA compliant toilet and patient lift. Equipment installed on board included an Optom combi-unit, Visual Fields Assessment, PC Unit for Initial Exam and an OCT Unit.

An optician travelled 870 miles with The Vision Van over the week’s activity and results showed that 85% of people tested needed new glasses and one in ten were referred to their GP.

The stats speak for themselves. 47% of the UK population haven’t had an eye test in the past two years. Half of all sight loss is preventable, so it’s clear to see why taking eye care mobile to reach the masses is so important.

In similar projects we are working with Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to offer vision saving treatment closer to patient’s homes. The pioneering new service was opened by Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health, and provides a one-stop assessment, diagnosis and treatment for wet age related macular degeneration (ARMD) - the most common cause of sight loss in the over 50s in the UK.

Typically, patients undergoing treatment for ARMD need injections every few weeks, so the mobile unit is stationed for a week at a time at 4 different supermarket locations and sees up to 50 patients per day. As well as enabling patients to be treated closer to their homes, the project also drastically increases the Trust’s capacity for treating patients in and around the area.

We are also working with The Eye Site Clinic on a similar project to help save the sight of thousands of patients and a trip of up to 84 miles for treatment. The mobile clinic treats patients with ARMD, supporting ophthalmology treatment centres in NHS hospitals that don’t have the space or capacity to deal with the increase in demand for the treatment. The unit is situated at Bridlington & District Hospital in Yorkshire and has been in operation for almost four years.

Mobile healthcare is about delivering a first class experience in a bespoke clinic with all the added convenience and efficiency of having a service located at the heart of a community. If you’d like to see how we could help you to deliver healthcare services in a mobile facility, please get in touch.