The Diabetic Eye Screening Programme, which runs clinics at Bassetlaw Hospital and Retford Hospital has been operating for just six months and has screened its 2,500th patient.
Eye screening checks for diabetic retinopathy, which is a complication of diabetes that is caused by high blood sugar levels damaging the back of the eye. This can lead to a loss of sight if not detected and treated early. Everyone aged 12 and over with diabetes receives an invitation to be screened once a year.
Tomoko Ueta was the 2,500th patient to have their screening appointment with the new service. Tomoko said: “I have only recently been diagnosed with diabetes and within two weeks of receiving my diagnosis I was attending my eye screening. I was amazed at how quickly I got an appointment.”
Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals took over the running of the programme in April 2017 and since then have increased the number of appointments available to people in Bassetlaw living with diabetes. The Trust now runs up to four clinics a week at Bassetlaw Hospital and up to two at Retford.
Amanda Stallard, Diabetic Eye Screening Manager, said: “The service has totally transformed over the last six months. We now have a more holistic approach to diabetes care in Bassetlaw which combines screening and diabetes education into an all in one service for our patients and we’re getting really good feedback from the people who use it.”
If you have diabetes there are a number of things you can do to reduce your risk of sight loss. As well as attending your screening appointments every year, make sure you exercise regularly, eat well and control your blood sugar levels and avoid smoking.
If you think you have missed your screening appointment you can call the team on 01302 642596 to arrange another.