Rowley Hall Hospital - Relocation to new Beacon Park location - 25th February 2021Staffordshire LOC has been advised that the new Beacon Park Hospital, Stafford (an extension of Rowley Hall Hospital) is now up and running. All eye services have been moved to Beacon Park Hospital, a dedicated state-of-the-art surgery unit. Apparently, Beacon Park Hospital is now running cataract clinics at least 4 days a week, and cataract operating lists also run at least 4 days a week. This increased capacity means that Beacon Park Hospital can offer a very short waiting time for patients. Their waiting times for new referrals are currently running at 2-3 weeks, and another 2-3 weeks for surgery. They also have ample car-parking. Referrals are still to be sent in the same way as to Rowley Hall Hospital. All administrative staff will still be based in Rowley, so there is no change in the referral contact details. North & South Staffs commissioned Post-Operative Cataract service arrangement will continue as normal. Staffordshire LOC has learnt that some of the referrals from Beacon Park to South Staffs post-op cataract services have been made via paper forms, instead of electronically. The LOC has liaised with Primary Eyecare Services Ltd (PES), who have since added “Rowley Hall – Beacon Park Hospital” to the drop-down list on OPERA of providers sending paper referrals, so that the practitioner can then manually input the patient’s details. Naturally, to avoid confusion, it would be much simpler if all referrals from Beacon Park Hospital into the Post-op Cataract services were made electronically through OPERA, and we understand that PES is working with Beacon Park Hospital to help them achieve this. Mr Bal Manoj (Consultant Ophthalmologist) has offered to arrange a tour to any optometrists who wish to visit the centre. They can watch a couple of cataract operations with Bal. There is a side-viewing arm on the microscope, and visitors can gown-up and watch the operation through the side-piece. They can also observe the surgical journey from arrival to discharge. Many newer optometrists, and even some of the more experienced ones, may find it very useful to know what happens behind the scenes. If you’re interested, please send an email to [balmanoj@hotmail.com]
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