Cataract
There are two elements to the cataract service.
- Enhanced Direct Referral – this element allows the practitioner to provide patients with a more cost effective service with a greater number of patients being managed within the primary care setting. The other aims of the service are to;
- reduce unnecessary referrals to the hospital eye service
- reduce patient anxiety by allowing some element of the pre-operative counselling to take place in primary care.
The service provides for the assessment and management of patients presenting with signs and/or symptoms of cataract in either eye. A GOS sight test or a private eye examination will reveal the presence of cataract and the examining ophthalmic practitioner will discuss this with the patient. If the cataract is not presenting any significant visual or lifestyle difficulties, then they will continue to be reviewed by the ophthalmic practitioner in the normal way. If the patient does wish to be considered for surgery, then the ophthalmic practitioner must complete a cataract assessment questionnaire (CAQ). The CAQ can be downloaded from the right of this page or the home page of this website. This will provide guidance to the optometrist whether the cataract is causing sufficient issue with the patient’s vision and/or quality of life that they would benefit from discussing the possibility of cataract surgery. A score of ≥ 10 warrants discussing the possibility of referral with the patient. Borderline sub threshold (scores of 8 or 9) referrals may be made but strong clinical reason for such a referral must be made. This must be outlined in the supporting information entered into the Opera system. In circumstances where first eye cataract surgery results in an anisometropic imbalance of > 2D with the other eye then second eye surgery will also be funded even when the CAQ score < 10.
So that patients can make an informed decision on their preferred surgical provider for cataract surgery, practitioners should be able to have accurate information on current waiting times. From January 2025 cataract surgery waiting times will be provided by the Primary Eyecare Services tool accessible here
- Post-Operative Cataract Follow Ups – this service will allow for patients that have had successful uncomplicated cataract surgery to have their final post-op follow up in a community setting. This requires the patient to have fewer appointments after their cataract operation.
Management of the Cataract service is through the Opera system. Further information on the use of Opera for cataract services is available from PES here
Where surgery has been performed by the Cheltenham & Tewkesbury Hospitals Cataract Service please send enquiries or re-referrals for second eye cataract surgery or requests to add post-operative data to Opera to ghn-tr.postcataractoutcome@nhs.net
Useful Guides
Cheltenham & Tewkesbury Hospitals Cataract Service
Cataract Post-Op Follow-up Lecture Notes
Entering Post-Op Data on Medisoft Portal
