COLLEGE NEWS QUARTERLY BULLETIN OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF OPHTHALMOLOGISTS SPRING 2006 President’s Report CONTENTS One of the most rewarding Not everyone is aware that the News 2 activities as President has been College is a registered charity travelling round the country to and has to abide by its Charter Obituaries 3 attend regional study days and and the rules laid down by the to have the opportunity to meet Privy Council. It is forbidden News 4 and converse with the local staff. for the College to become involved in ‘union matters’ but I have been welcomed in every nevertheless we can still be an News 6 region, including Scotland, Wales effective force in representing and Northern Ireland and have Members’ and Fellows’ Diary & appointments 8 been able to talk about the interests for the common College and exchange views on good of our patients and the issues that are keeping us ophthalmology. awake at night. In May my term as Independent Sector Treatment President comes to Centres have been a constant an end. Over the topic, as the government sticks last three years I to its plan to dismantle the NHS have had the privilege Training the by introducing more plurality to represent the College and competition. Modernising both overseas and at trainers Medical Careers (MMC) has home and have tried exercised us all trying to keep hard to improve our Wednesday 22 March 2006 up with and influence the ever- communications 1 ‘What to Teach’ changing ‘Career Framework strategy, develop 2 ‘How to Teach’ Proposal’ and the extension of our public health role, Tuesday 18 April 2006 prescribing rights debate has focus on international 3 ‘Improving Teaching Skills’ polarised opinion on professional relations and make 4 ‘Feedback and Appraisal’ competencies, patient safety and more equitable the importance of evidence- our council Monday 5 June 2006 based practice. representation. 5 ‘Assessment’ continued on page 3 6 ‘Problem Solving’ All these issues require close engagement by the College Daily fee: £265.00 inc V.A.T. and by making our views Reduced fee: £647 inc V.A.T. known to Ministers, the MMC if all three days are booked. Board, Healthcare Commission, www.rcophth.ac.uk/education GOC etc, we are trying hard to maintain standards for the benefit of the public and ensure that training is given the Please visit the Do Once highest priority. and Share pages on the College website: Sometimes it feels like ‘kicking against the pricks’ (Acts 9:5) but www.rcophth.ac.uk it is important to persevere and “Things must be done decently and in order” /thecollege/doas hope that good sense will prevail in Sherlock Holmes in The Adventure of the Retired Colourman the face of political ‘short-termism’. NEWS ORYCLE 30 March – 1 April Opportunity Knocks! web-site has been set up: ORYCLE is organised by the www.doasglaucoma.org Ophthalmic Trainees Group to The Do Once and Share Programme You’ll find details about the project’s provide an annual education and (DOAS) is a national initiative from scope, and its operational and social event for all SpRs, SHOs and Connecting for Health (CfH) specifically accountability framework, but most recently appointed consultants. designed to: importantly, you’ll be able to observe • Engage clinicians and patients in the it’s progress and contribute to it The meeting will be held in the design, development and implementation throughout its duration. Currently the fantastic five star De Vere Hotel, of IT technologies in the NHS by CfH site highlights ongoing work collating Oulton Hall just outside Leeds. • Ensure that the needs of clinical examples of best practice in glaucoma http://www.devereonline.co.uk specialties are taken into account, and care, information flows within and • Provide a care record focusing on the between clinical teams across primary There will be a limited number of needs of patients who may be involved and secondary care, and existing residential places available so make with more than one clinical specialty electronic systems. This will inform sure you book in good time to the development of the care pathway avoid disappointment. It is made up of a national network and dataset, which will include of DOAS projects focusing on a sourcing the evidence base supporting The weekend fee is £210 and the daily particular clinical topic or condition all proposed recommendations. In fee is £75. The day rate includes an across a wide variety of clinical addition, developments from research evening meal, and on Friday 31 specialties. By the end of 2005 and technology that are likely to March the evening entertainment, but there were around 45 with further influence clinical practice in the short, does not include any accommodation expansion planned for 2006. medium and long-term will be during the meeting. Ophthalmology has done very highlighted and prioritised for further well getting 3 projects in the first work, to keep the pathway responsive The meeting has been highly wave – in addition to Glaucoma, and reflective of current clinical successful in the past and includes these include Cataract and Diabetic practice and opinion. Do take a look at topics of interest and relevance to Eye Disease. it now, and send us your comments, trainees that are often overlooked but also watch this web space…Very in other meetings and courses. DOAS GLAUCOMA shortly the first draft of the clinical This started in November 2005 with a pathway and dataset will be placed on Application forms can be duration of 6 months. Its objectives are to: the web-site – and we’ll look forward downloaded form the college website: • Develop a national clinical glaucoma care to hearing from you. http://www.rcophth.ac.uk/training/otg pathway template that has been approved by all the relevant professional bodies Why should you? Thank you • Define a core dataset for glaucoma This is a long term venture. At this stage Amit Patel – OTG Rep, Wales supporting the care pathway template of the DOAS programme we are • Engage and consult with the wider charged with getting the basics right for community of practice of professionals further development as necessary until and patients involved in glaucoma care the promised electronic care record Congratulations becomes a reality. Ophthalmology has In common with all the other DOAS done well in getting 3 projects and this To Alex Tytko, Deputy Chief projects, the glaucoma clinical care is a real opportunity for its clinical Executive and Head of Education pathway and core dataset will inform community to keep it in the mainstream and Training Department, a the development of the NHS Care of IT developments in the NHS. daughter, Amelia Estelle, born Record, its presentation to the user 30 December 2005. through the Common User Interface www.doasglaucoma.org and ultimately, its use in practice in a To Barny Foot, Research Fellow, a daughter, Sophie, born 20 clinical setting. Parul Desai January 2006. Clinical Lead, DOAS Glaucoma How can you get involved? Consultant in Ophthalmology Katie Miller has joined the Education To facilitate the widest coverage and Public Health and Training Department as Junior and involvement of professionals Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Assistant, following the promotion and patients as possible, a dedicated Foundation Trust of Carol Welch to Senior Assistant. 2 MEMBERS NEWS President’s Report My Chief Executive at the Norfolk and Norwich has continued from page 1 been an invaluable support in giving me leave of absence I shall miss coming down to London, albeit to a red box to serve the College and my colleagues have worked like full of correspondence, and working with the College Trojans to keep up our activity. staff who have all become friends, in particular Margaret Hallendorff and Kathy Evans. I shall miss the tall figure I am pleased to be handing over the reins to Brenda of Sherlock Holmes at the entrance to Baker Street tube, Billington, who, I am confident, will enjoy the respect although my image will be preserved on innumerable and support of all the Staff, Officers, Members and tourists’ photographs taken in passing. I shall not miss Fellows who have been associated with the College the volume of email traffic which to my amazement has during the last three years and more. totalled around 17,000 sent and received! Nick Astbury ship. After the war, he trained at Hopkins University School of Obituaries UCH under Shapland and Neame. Medicine. After serving as a Major in the US Army, he became Allan Friedmann 1916 - 2005 His first Consultant appointment Associate Professor of Surgery at A generation of ophthalmologists was at St Mary Abbott’s Hospital, Stanford University. His main and patients will be saddened to Kensington and he later held interests were in glaucoma, learn of the death of Allan Consultant posts at Ashford intraocular copper foreign bodies, Friedmann at the age of 89. Hospital, Middlesex and at the uveitis and epidemiology. In 1980 South Middlesex Hospital. He was he was appointed the Frederick Allan, who trained in appointed as a Consultant at the Thorpe Foundation Professor of Johannesburg, was closely linked Fulham Hospital in west London Ophthalmology, in Leicester and to the anti-apartheid movement which later evolved into the new through hard work and and left South Africa for England Charing Cross Hospital. Here he commitment made the department in 1961. He was appointed established an interest in contact internationally recognised. He Consultant to the Royal Eye lenses and pioneered the treatment pursued his special interest in Hospital, working closely with of diabetic retinopathy. Alan epidemiology, notably with the Professor Sorsby, and when it provided the backbone of the Melton Project, and set up the closed in 1980 he transferred to St.