THE VIEWS of patients the borough are being sought to help shape the future of local diabetic eye screening services.
The North East Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (NEDESP) wants the views of diabetic patients on where they can go to be screened.
Tanveer Kausser, Programme Manager of the North East Manchester Diabetic Eye Screening Programme, said: “Diabetic Eye Screening is a vital part of diabetes care and aims to reduce the risk of sight loss amongst patients with diabetes.
“It is important as many patients as possible contribute to the engagement process to help shape the future delivery of this important service.”
NEDESP is commissioned by NHS England and provided by The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Jane Pilkington, Head of Public Health for NHS England in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, added: “Our ambition is to achieve an increase in the number of people taking up the screening offer whilst at the same time ensuring the provision of safe and high quality screening services.”
NHS England, together with The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, is undertaking the review of the screening sites to decide the best possible way of providing services.
They want to meet the needs of local populations with the resources available, taking into consideration accessibility, transport and appointment times.
Audrey Howarth, Screening and Immunisation Manager for NHS England in Lancashire and Greater Manchester, said: “Local patients are key to providing this information and need to be involved in this review process.
“Their views and experiences are vital to ensuring that we shape the services around what people need so a formal engagement process will be carried out.”
A pre-engagement exercise has been carried out to help inform the possible options and formal patient engagement will be launched on August 3 by NHS North West Commissioning Support Unit.
There are two options on which patients’ views are being sought. Option A is to have ten screening sites across the three CCGs to include existing six sites and four additional based on patient and staff feedback while Option B is to have up 12 screening sites.
Patients and their representatives will be able to take part at four events running between 2pm and 7pm each day:
- Tuesday 4August at Middleton Masonic Hall, Manchester Old Road, Middleton, M24 4DY
- Wednesday 5 August at Oldham Queen Elizabeth Hall, West Street, Oldham, OL1 1QJ
- Thursday 6 August at Bury Masonic Lodge, 25 Parsons Lane, Bury, BL9 0LY
- Thursday 20 August at Rochdale Town Hall, The Esplanade, Rochdale, OL16 1AB
Patients can complete the survey online at www.nemdesp.co.uk or call the Diabetic Eye Screening Team on 01706 901711 to complete the survey over the phone.
The number will be available 8.30am-4.30pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30am–4pm on Friday from August 3 to August 31.
Patients can also request a paper copy to complete the survey by post.
The outcome of the patient engagement process is set to be completed by the end of the summer.
