What is my safety record with glaucoma treatments?

What is my safety record with glaucoma treatments? I have been an NHS consultant since 2008, and I have seen thousands of patients in glaucoma outpatient clinics because my NHS subspecialty expertise is in the subject of glaucoma. The reason why my safety record is good is that I am well trained.

I trained at Moorfields Eye Hospital and also did a Glaucoma Fellowship there. Annually, I undertake an appraisal in which my outpatient service and my surgical log book, is scrutinised.

In my years as an NHS consultant and the many years I spent training before becoming a consultant, I’ve never experienced an adverse event (called a clinical incident) related to my performance.

How do I measure my safety record for Glaucoma Treatments?

I measure my safety record against nationally reported safety records where available. While cataract surgery is an operation performed by most ophthalmologists, cataract surgery is also a treatment for some patients with certain types of glaucoma.

I do about 100 to 150 cataract operations a year. As part of my annual appraisal, I scrutinise my complication rate. It has never been worse than the national average. My case mix in the NHS consists of patients who are potentially complex cases because of angle closure glaucoma or patients with sight in only one eye.

With microinvasive glaucoma surgery, I’ve offered this type of treatment to my patients since 2012 and perform about 20 to 30 of these operations per year. I also do the longer established trabeculectomy surgery, with similar numbers per year.

I compare my safety record to the data reported in peer-reviewed journals, and I undertake an annual appraisal of my glaucoma surgery. My surgery performance has never been the subject of any safety concerns.

Because I’m passionate about making sure my service is continually improving and safe, it was a good fit for me to become the clinical governance lead for my NHS hospitals from 2008 to 2018. This means that I have led on many glaucoma and other ophthalmic audits, all of which have helped me reflect on my service and improve things where indicated. I see this as an integral part of my job to continually ensure that I am a safe doctor.