A new eyelid cyst clinic introduced at a Lincolnshire hospital is transforming care for patients.
This new see and treat clinic means assessment and surgery is carried out in the same appointment and patients are able to go home within the hour.
Patients are seen within a few weeks of the initial referral from their GP or optometrist in the clinic within the Royle Eye Department at Pilgrim Hospital, Boston. Patients are assessed and if surgical treatment is required, it is carried out at the same appointment.
Carmen Clark oculoplastic advanced care practitioner for United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Generally, the whole appointment takes around 30-45 minutes from start to finish. I have also been able to identify other conditions and made the necessary referrals for patients during the assessment. I am treating patients in a hospital setting which means if other problems are identified they are in the right setting to get further treatment.”
She has been carrying out these procedures at other hospital trusts for more than 15 years and since May at Pilgrim Hospital. The surgery only takes 10 minutes to carry out.
The clinic has received positive feedback from patients who feel safe, confident in Carmen’s care and pleased with the speediness of the process.
Patient Diane Turner, 52, from Boston said: “I’m really pleased with the procedure. The anaesthetic was a little bit painful but I didn’t feel anything after that. I’m really glad to be able to have it all done in one day.”
Conditions treated include chalazions and meibomian cysts which are painless bumps inside the upper or lower eyelid caused by blockage of oil glands in the eyelid and eye lid papillomas which look like a skin tag and can be solitary or multiple, smooth or rough and is similar in colour to adjacent skin and skin tags.
The aim of the service is for Lincolnshire GPs and local optometrists to be able to refer directly into this clinic, rather than secondary care where the patient may not be able to be treated.
Clinics run fortnightly and Carmen has treated 22 patients since May.