Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust and University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
Kent and Medway CCG, UK.
J Optom. 2022 Apr-Jun;15(2):175-178. doi: 10.1016/j.optom.2021.01.002. Epub 2021 Jan 31.
Specialised Independent Prescribing (IP) community optometrists provided acute eye care during the COVID-19 crisis ensuring that over-stretched hospital emergency eye care was supported, therefore local overall urgent eye care provision was not affected.
SUBJECTS/METHODS: Number of cases seen by hospital Rapid Access Clinic (RAC) between January 2020 and June 2020 were compared to number of cases seen by IP optometrists in community Acute Primary Care Ophthalmology Service (APCOS) during the same time period. Specifically, comparisons were made between the number of cases seen in RAC and the number of cases seen by APCOS during the period before COVID-19 emergency (January-March 2020) and for a similar timeframe thereafter (April-June 2020). Numbers treated by APCOS alone and those referred to RAC were also determined. The change in case numbers between the different healthcare settings was also studied.
Increase in cases seen by APCOS between April (n = 391) and June (n = 641). Number of cases seen by RAC declined from 652 in March to 372 in April, increasing to 610 by June. This was still below maximum number of monthly cases seen by RAC pre-lockdown in January (861). Most of the cases seen by APCOS were managed in the community with 4% referred to RAC.
Ophthalmology services delivered by IP specialised optometrists can safely and efficiently treat and manage the vast majority of urgent cases and mitigate the reduced capacity within hospital emergency eye clinics. Our experience provides insights into care pathways for urgent eye cases in the future.
专门的独立处方（IP）社区验光师在 COVID-19 危机期间提供急性眼部护理，确保了紧张的医院急诊眼科护理得到支持，因此当地整体紧急眼部护理服务没有受到影响。
受试者/方法：比较了 2020 年 1 月至 6 月期间医院快速准入诊所（RAC）接诊的病例数与同期社区急性初级保健眼科服务（APCOS）中 IP 验光师接诊的病例数。具体而言，在 COVID-19 紧急情况之前的时间段（2020 年 1 月至 3 月）和之后的类似时间段（2020 年 4 月至 6 月），比较了 RAC 接诊的病例数和 APCOS 接诊的病例数。还确定了 APCOS 单独治疗的病例数和转诊到 RAC 的病例数。还研究了不同医疗保健环境中病例数量的变化。
APCOS 接诊的病例数从 4 月（n=391）增加到 6 月（n=641）。RAC 接诊的病例数从 3 月的 652 例下降到 4 月的 372 例，6 月增加到 610 例。这仍然低于 1 月封锁前 RAC 每月最多接诊的 861 例。APCOS 接诊的大多数病例都在社区得到管理，只有 4%的病例转诊到 RAC。
由 IP 专科验光师提供的眼科服务可以安全有效地治疗和管理绝大多数紧急病例，并减轻医院急诊眼科诊所的容量减少。我们的经验为未来紧急眼病的护理途径提供了思路。
