A new ophthalmology service and shorter waiting lists on the Ste-Elisabeth site
On Thursday evening, the Europe Hospitals inaugurated its brand new Ophthalmology Department on the Ste-Elisabeth site in Uccle. Dr Noémia Lambrecht, Head of the Ophthalmology Department at the Ste-Elisabeth site, took the opportunity to present the department's four new ophthalmologists and the new way in which it operates, which has already resulted in shorter waiting lists.
"In addition to the three existing surgeries and technical rooms, there are now three new rooms for orthoptists, optometrists and nurses trained in ophthalmology, i.e. qualified people who can, among other things, begin patient care, take measurements (vision, eye pressure) and carry out most technical diagnostic procedures. What's more, the technical platform has also been refitted with new state-of-the-art examination equipment", says Dr Noémia Lambrecht with satisfaction.
New organisation, teamwork
The current trend is to delegate measurements and technical procedures to specially trained staff. "These professionals - orthoptists, optometrists and nurses - allow us, on the one hand, to increase the number of patients we can see in a day, and on the other hand, to concentrate more, as ophthalmologists, on clinical and diagnostic management (interpretation of images and measurements) ", says Dr Lambrecht.
"In this new way of working, communication is essential,’ adds the ophthalmologist. ‘ Patients who have made an appointment with the ophthalmologist are first welcomed and looked after by the orthoptist/optometrist/nurse, before being seen by the ophthalmologist. These professionals know that they cannot give any diagnostic information, but that they must provide us with all the relevant measurements and information".
She continues: "The fact that they have sorted out the work means that we ophthalmologists can devote more time to explaining the diagnosis to the patient and offering him or her optimum, high-quality, personalised care, which is one of our strengths at the Europe Hospitals. More generally, this care is only possible thanks to good collaboration, from the secretary to the doctor, via the orthoptists, optometrists and nurses. It's a real team effort."
A stronger team and a broader range of services
In the space of a year and a half, four new ophthalmologists have been recruited, including two this month, bringing to eight the number of ophthalmologists who make up the ophthalmology team at the Ste-Elisabeth site. "These appointments have enabled us to increase our range of services quite significantly, and to develop certain areas that we didn't previously offer," points out the ophthalmologist.
In this case, the Ste-Elisabeth Ophthalmology team now has the human and technical skills to develop the cornea sector. ‘ The cornea gives rise to medical and surgical pathologies. Our team is now able to treat corneal dystrophies, corneal infections (keratitis, abscesses, ulcers, etc.), corneal deformities such as keratoconus (a disease in which the cornea bulges outwards), etc., both medically and surgically,’ explains Noémia Lambrecht.
And in the end... shorter waiting lists
‘ As everyone knows, waiting lists in ophthalmology are a recurring problem in every institution in the country. Thanks to our new organisational structure and our new commitments, we can say that we have already been able to reduce our waiting lists considerably, which meets the expectations of our patients and contributes to a better quality of care, since we can treat patients more quickly and therefore treat pathologies - sometimes urgent without the patient noticing - more quickly, thus avoiding complications ’, concludes Dr Lambrecht.
