Friends explore The Future of Eye Care
9th November, 2023
The Friends of Moorfields’ 60th anniversary conference, The Future of Eye Care, took place last weekend in central London.
Almost 200 people registered for the event, which celebrated this milestone year by bringing together speakers from Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Friends of Moorfields to explore recent developments in eye care, from the latest scientific developments to new ideas for making the experience better for patients. The day was aimed at patients and their families and carers, helping them to stay informed about innovations that could transform their future care.
The morning opened with a welcome from Friends of Moorfields Chair Tim Hutchings, looking back on the history of the Friends and highlighting key achievements. The next few sessions featured: Moorfields CCIO and Director of Digital Medicine Pete Thomas discussing digital medicine, including how general digital tools like virtual reality headsets or smart phones can have surprising uses in eye care; Oculoplastic Nurse Consultant Dr Nicola Dunlop exploring recent research into caring for Benign Essential Blepharospasm; Consultant in Public Health and Ophthalmology Parul Desai giving an overview of how data can inform and improve eye care; and Moorfields Medical Director and NHS England National Clinical Director for Eye Care Louisa Wickham taking a look at the eye care picture around the UK. The presentations were followed by a panel featuring all of the speakers, and facilitated by Moorfields Associate Director of Excellence Delivery Victoria Moore, with an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.
During the extra-long lunch break, attendees had the chance to learn about the future of eye care in a more hands-on way, with interactive stands and mini-sessions showcasing current projects and future plans, including virtual reality training for staff, digital inclusion initiatives and a look at Oriel, the joint partnership between Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology (IoO) and Moorfields Eye Charity that will move services from Islington to a new, integrated centre on part of the St Pancras Hospital site in Camden.
The afternoon session focused more closely on the Moorfields context, with: Friends Volunteer Service Manager Natalia Tomashpolskaya giving an overview of the volunteer service; Friends Chief Executive Angela Smith with a deep dive into the positive impact on patients and staff of handholding volunteers; Patient Safety Partner Chris Telesford, Chief Nurse and Director of Allied Health Professionals Sheila Adam, and Director of Quality and Safety Ian Tombleson sharing the latest thinking around improving the patient experience; and Consultant Ophthalmologist, and Chair of Moorfields Arts and Heritage Committee Raj Das-Bhaumik giving an overview of arts and heritage around Moorfields.
Finally, Moorfields Chief Executive Martin Kuper drew together the threads from the day’s conversations with a presentation on Moorfields and the future of eye care, setting out a plan for Moorfields to deliver future eye care in line with the trust’s values of excellence, equity and kindness, with the Friends of Moorfields’ support.
The Friends’ patron, Baroness Cumberlege, brought the day to a close.
“The day was a great success, and the perfect way to wrap up our 60th anniversary year,” said Friends chief executive Angela Smith. “We’re incredibly grateful to have received so much support from around the trust, including from those who joined us on the day to give presentations or to talk to attendees between sessions, but also from teams around the hospital who’ve helped us to organise and promote this event. Eye care at Moorfields has a bright future and we’re delighted to have a role in bringing that future to life.”