Plymouth University set to open state of the art community eyecare centre
A new optometry clinic which will bring together patient care, eye research and student training under one roof is being formally opened by Plymouth University next week.
The Centre for Eyecare Excellence will be run by qualified eye care professionals and will provide specialist treatment such as advanced 3D retinal imaging for the city and wider region.
Its primary aim will be to act as a training hub for the University’s final year optometry students, who will provide supervised eye examinations and contact lens consultations to patients from September.
Dr David Adams, Head of Optometry at the Royal Eye Infirmary at Derriford, will formally open the centre on Tuesday (23rd April), which is located in University property on Gibbon Street.
Professor of Optometry Christine Purslow, from the University’s School of Health Professions, said: “The Centre for Eyecare Excellence is an exciting development for the University and the city. It not only provides a centre of excellence for teaching and research, but a valuable community resource with patient care provided by both qualified professionals and optometry students.
“We’ve recruited a fantastic team of qualified optometrists, and they will also play an influential role in the teaching programme here at the University.”
The centre builds upon the launch of the optometry degree programme at Plymouth in September 2011 – one of only nine such programmes in the UK. The 300 square foot facility has been operating on a limited trial basis since January and has already managed 220 patients.
With the full launch, it will provide comprehensive eye examinations, contact lens and review consultations, prescription services and a repair clinic for spectacles. But it will also offer a number of specialist treatments such as Ocular Coherence Tomography (a technique which produces 3D imaging of the layers of the retina); colourimetry (the use of colour tints to alleviate symptoms of conditions such as dyslexia); and specialist consultations for children and those with learning difficulties.
Professor Ray Playford, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Plymouth University, will host the event and welcome guests, among them the Lord Mayor of the city. Professor Playford said: “The Centre builds upon the University’s commitment to using its medical and health services to support the development of sustainable local and regional communities. Our pioneering dental school has already reached the 10,000 patient mark, and earlier this year we also launched a medical facility –
The Cumberland Centre – to address health needs in Devonport.
“Now with the official opening of the Centre for Eyecare Excellence we’ll be taking that bench to bedside model of care one step further, simultaneously providing expert patient services while we train and develop the next generation of optometrist – many of whom will remain in the South West to build their careers.”
Guests at the launch will have the opportunity to take a tour around the facility, and there will also be an exhibition of research from some of the University’s other healthcare services such as podiatry, physiotherapy, paramedicine and dentistry.
The centre will also ‘look’ the part thanks to artwork provided by illustration students in the University’s Faculty of Arts.
