New Ophthalmology Day Case Unit for patients in Banbury

State-of-the-art equipment is now available in Banbury in a designated unit for Ophthalmology patients as part of a partnership between Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust and Ramsay Health Care.

A SurgiCube has been installed at the Cherwell Hospital (Ramsay Health Care), which is on the grounds of the Horton General Hospital, forming part of a new Ophthalmology Day Case Unit. The unit has been specially designed to provide eye treatment.

Ophthalmology is medical care of the eye, and includes cataract surgery, injections for glaucoma patients, and treatments for other eye disorders.

The SurgiCube provides a localised, optimally filtered, ultra clean surgical environment to carry out minor surgeries, such as ophthalmic surgery. The clean air flow is blown directly on to the operating surface, and the surgical team can move around freely without adversely affecting the sterile field.

The bespoke unit is available for NHS patients and will help to alleviate pressures on waiting lists for ophthalmology treatments. The unit is staffed by OUH surgeons and Cherwell Hospital nursing staff, with pre-and-post-surgical requirements managed by OUH.  

Sara Randall, Chief Operating Officer at OUH, said: "This is a very welcome development for patients in the Banbury area requiring eye treatments. Ophthalmology as a service has been under a lot of pressure over recent years, and this designated unit will go a long way to alleviate this and tackle waiting lists, as well as allowing people to receive treatment closer to home and reduce the need for unnecessary travel."

Boris Wagner, Hospital Director at the Cherwell Hospital, said: "In line with The Cherwell Hospital's (Ramsay Health Care) drive to diversify its services, this strategic Ophthalmic partnership with OUH has given us a unique opportunity to achieve this goal, and has provided a significant milestone by increasing the responsiveness of both organisations to meet the needs of their local community."

Victoria Prentis MP visited the unit recently to formally open it.  She said: "I was delighted to open the new SurgiCube Ophthalmology Unit at the Cherwell Hospital. Providing bespoke eye treatments for NHS patients on the Horton site, this state-of-the-art unit will go a long way towards tackling waiting lists in North Oxfordshire."

Pictured: SurgiCube