A DEDICATED Cataract Clinic (DCC) treating patients from Limerick and across the Mid West is slashing waiting times for surgery and streamlining processes.
Based at Nenagh Hospital, the clinic is the only one of its kind in Ireland and has emerged as a leading centre for cataract surgery pre-assessment, with more than 40 per cent of patients having surgery within a month of consultation, and 90 per cent undergoing operations within four months.
Before the one-stop clinic opened its doors, most cataract patients had average wait times of two to four years for the procedure. Since the opening of the DCC in Nenagh in July 2022, the total number of patients waiting for a procedure has reduced from 647 to 131.
The number of patients waiting longer than 12 months has decreased from 134 to just 10, and the average wait time for patients on the day case waiting list has reduced to four months – and continues to fall.
A GP-referral service, the DCC was established in July 2022 at the hospital’s modern Lough Derg suite alongside five other eye clinics (laser, intra-vitreal injections, post-operative review, pre-op assessment, and a day clinic for routine appointments).
The DCC runs twice monthly, each appointment providing patients with a consolidated range of tests and examinations that traditionally would have required multiple visits.
The DCC’s multidisciplinary team includes a senior medical and nursing staff, an optometrist, healthcare assistants, and administrative support.
In its first 12 months, up to July 2023, the DCC organised a total of 23 clinics, seeing approximately 12 to 15 patients per clinic.
