Sight loss in older people - A priority for General Practice Katherine Raven UK Vision Strategy Senior #SVS2015 Supported by:

Why should sight loss be a priority? The Clinical Priority Project so far What next? Today

Eye problems account for 1.5% of GP consultations in the UK 4 in 5 with sight loss are in 2 people aged 90+ live with sight loss GPs have a vital role in asking patients about their eye health Links with other health conditions such as stroke, diabetes, falls, dementia and depression Why should sight loss be a priority?

RCGP project stakeholders

RCGP Clinical Priority Project RCGP selected eye health with a focus on ageing and sight loss as one of its four clinical priorities for 2013 – 2016 Dr Waqaar Shah was appointed by the RCGP as Clinical Champion for eye health

GPs and practice staff have told us… Survey carried out in 2013 Confidence of diagnosis depends on condition Less than half of practices provided accessible information Limited awareness of minority ethnic groups and learning disability

GPs and practice staff want… The majority of respondents expressed an interest in receiving training or guidance on how to support patients who were blind and partially sighted

RCGP project deliverables 1.Increase clinical leadership amongst GPs to champion eye health in their region by establishing the first professional network for GPs with an interest in eye health 2.Disseminating information to GPs through publications about how they can identify eye problems in their patients and support patients with sight loss 3.Increase GPs understanding of particular eye conditions and the needs of patients with sight loss by developing resources such as factsheets and a guide to eye health and sight loss 4.Events for GPs and practice staff to enable them learn about maintenance of good eye health, sight loss and the links between sight loss and other health priorities 5.Deliver more efficient eye care pathways by embedding eye health questions in existing GP prognostic toolkits

GP and general practice network Almost 500 GPs and practice staff across the UK have joined the network Members of the network provide us with their feedback and opinions to shape the project They receive bi-monthly bulletins Sign up:

Clinical factsheets  Infective Conjunctivitis  Dry eyes  Management of Cataract in primary care  Glaucoma  Charles Bonnet Syndrome Access factsheets at: ukvisionstrategy.org.uk Supported by

Launch of First General Practice Guide Written by a GP, Ophthalmologist & Optometrist Accredited by RCGP Launched at RCGP conference and sent to all GPs practices across the UK

Feedback from GPs and Practice Staff “ I think this is excellent- it took me my first ten years in practice to pull all these bits of information together. ” “ Just to say thanks, we need to receive this sort of easy to access guide on more topics. Makes for a neat training tool as well as a resource. ”

Impact of the Guide 78% either strongly agreed or agreed that the guide improved their knowledge 64% thought that the guide has a major or moderate impact on the care they provide 46% of respondents planned to change their practice as a result of reading the guide 21 % of respondents said that they had already changed their practice as a result of reading the guide

Next steps – Host a number of eye health workshops and webinars across the UK for GPs and Practice Staff to help raise awareness of the importance of eye health and impact of sight loss amongst older patients. Eye health workshops and seminars at key UK conferences and events Development of Eye Health Network Inclusion of evidence based eye health questions across key GP toolkits and resources

Get involved #SVS2015 Thank you to our sponsors