Age Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD)

Company news

May 31, 2012

This service is now been commissioned and is provided by Care UK at the Will Adams NHS Treatment Centre (WATC) from 6th June 2012.

ow the service works

Upon receipt of a referral the patient will be seen within two weeks at WATC initially in an Out Patients Clinic that will run every Wednesday afternoon. The patient will be assessed in this consultant led clinic by use of a basic slit lamp view, with pictures taken of the eye to look for changes via the use of an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) machine.

If a diagnosis of wet ARMD is made the patient will be given an appointment for attendance at the Treatment Clinic which will run every Wednesday morning, usually patients will need more than one injection. Currently the only commissioned drug in use is Lucentis (Ranibizumab) which is funded by the PCT.

Normally a course of three injections are given approximately one month apart. After the three injections the patient is then assessed to check that the treatment is working. Where treatment is successful, another course of three injections is given and the patient will again be reassessed.

 If the treatment is not working the patient could either be reassessed at regular intervals or be sign posted to the most appropriate service.

Who leads the service?

The service will be led by Ms M Hawkes who is a Consultant Ophthalmologist with extensive experience in ARMD, phacoemulsification, diabetic maculopathy and retinopathy. Ms Hawkes has a distinguished career including time spent at Moorfields Eye Hospital and ARMD trials at Queens Hospital (Romford) and Royal Gwent Hospital

How to refer to the service

There is a fast track referral form available in either an electronic or paper format that can be sent to a safehaven fax or an nhs.net e-mail account.

 To download a copy of the referral form click here