Annual Health Check update

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust implemented a range of positive measures following the Healthcare Commission’s annual health check report in October last year.

As well as commissioning an external review of all booking and waiting list processes, the Trust now works closely with Barts and the London NHS Trust to offer improved services for a particularly rare form of cancer, Choroidal Melanoma.

Until 1st December 2007, Moorfields had only a single surgeon offering a service for this type of cancer which led to some capacity issues for the Trust. This was the main reason that Moorfields received a score of ‘not met’ for existing national targets from the annual health check, the second cause being a technical problem resulting in the Trust being unable to submit some cancer performance target data.

Now however, in an arrangement approved of by the NCG National Commissioning Group, there is a single site for surgery at Barts and the London, an appropriate outpatient facility at Moorfields, and the new partnership has helped to fund a second consultant.

Other improvements implemented by Moorfields include measures to ensure the timely and complete submission of data, and an external review of all booking waiting list processes to ensure the delivery of all waiting time targets in future.

Good progress has also been made with all other targets including those for A&E and 18 Weeks. The Trust has already declared ‘full compliance’ against the Healthcare Commission standards for better health 2007/08.

ENDS

For further information, please contact the press office at Moorfields on 020 7566 2628 or press.office@moorfields.nhs.uk