IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ijhplm/v35y2020i2p506-519.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Eye clinic liaison officers service in the United Kingdom

Author

Listed:
  • Vasilios P. Papastefanou
  • Swan Kang
  • Philippa Simkiss
  • Hadi Zambarakji

Abstract

Background To investigate the role of eye clinic liaison officers (ECLOs) in the United Kingdom and analyse patients' demographics and services provided. Methods This is a retrospective observational study. Data were collected from the Royal National Institute of Blind People for ECLOs in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England for the first quarter of 2015. Statistical analysis was performed using chi‐square and t test as appropriate. Results Trusts with ECLOs support vary greatly in the UK regions. Only one‐third of NHS trusts in England have an ECLO service. Over 4000 patients were assessed. The majority of patients were of White ethnic background (94%), lived alone (37%), had no carers (58%) and were in their 80s (29.5%). The principal ocular conditions causing sight loss and certification were age‐related macular degeneration (41.6%) and glaucoma (18.1%). Approximately 70% of patients are first seen at 13 to 18 months from diagnosis. Conclusions ECLO services vary in the UK regions. England has the lowest ECLO availability per trust and the majority of those assessed were of White British origin with AMD. There are significant delays from diagnosis to the first visit indicating the need for improved services. Further studies are necessary to develop the evidence base for the expansion and funding of ECLO services.

Suggested Citation

  • Vasilios P. Papastefanou & Swan Kang & Philippa Simkiss & Hadi Zambarakji, 2020. "Eye clinic liaison officers service in the United Kingdom," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(2), pages 506-519, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ijhplm:v:35:y:2020:i:2:p:506-519
    DOI: 10.1002/hpm.2938
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/hpm.2938
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/hpm.2938?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ijhplm:v:35:y:2020:i:2:p:506-519. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0749-6753 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.