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Throughout the last two years, the OCCS have been working closely with The Macular Society to highlight the key work the charity undertake in highlighting AMD in the UK. In today’s blog, we share our collaborations and recent event that brought together top opticians and dispensing opticians to understand how to communicate with those suffering from the disease.
Macular Degeneration is a disease that affects over 1.5 million people of all ages living in Great Britain. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common condition, generally affecting people over the age of 55 and is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK, affecting more than 600,000 people.
In 2021, amongst other activities, the OCCS announced an initiative in conjunction with Optician Online and the Macular Society to help combat the disease and improve quality of care and service to those affected by the disease.
At the heart of the new initiative is the desire to improve patient care and the relaying of the diagnosis to those affected. What’s more, central to our campaign is to ensure that those diagnosed with the disease are aware of the support that the Macular Society provides and the help the organisation offers.
On the 6 April 2021 we hosted our CET lecture which examined how ageing patient demographics will place additional demands on the way ECPs manage communication at each stage of AMD – from diagnosis to management.
Using the tried and tested model of interactive CET that we have evolved over a number of years, the session, led by OCCS Clinical Consultant Richard Edwards, highlighted patient case studies to illustrate key points in how to manage each stage more effectively, reduce the risk complaints and improve the service provided by the OCCS.
Last month November 2022, we continued our important work with The Macular Society through our valuable discussion workshop “How to communicate AMD on behalf of Macular Society, now delivered in partnership by Topcon.
The new initiative to improve communication around AMD was recently launched by the OCCS, the Macular Society and Topcon in helping to raise awareness to eye health providers by delivering a CPD accredited discussion workshop.
Composed of training sessions and real-world case studies, the initiative promises to build a toolbox for opticians by defining a series of strategies that can be easily adopted in the face of the condition. Ultimately, the collaboration between the OCCS and the Macula Society will provide professionals with everything they need to understand and capably communicate issues surrounding AMD.
Nicola Bennett, Clinical Affairs Manager from Topcon has started to deliver the presentation “How do you talk about AMD” which has been well received by a couple of LOCs and offers 3 CPD for Optometrists, Dispensing opticians and Contact lens opticians and is designed to help them how to show care and compassion and communicate effectively to patients and respond to complaints effectively.
This peer group discussion session leverages the concept of using complaint insights as a source of learning to enable delegates to discuss their approach so as to develop confidence and competence in this area. We use three complaint scenarios to illustrate some key points in improving communication in the management of AMD.
Nicola further commented “I have found that using real life cases from the OCCS & MS collaboration has proven to provide thought provoking discussions for delegates. This allows delegates time to talk openly with other Eyecare professionals whilst listening to patients’ scenarios and this helps develop practice complaint management and the importance of effective communication to patients. I look forward to rolling this out to many more professionals over the next few months.”
The OCCS & Macular Society have worked closely with Topcon to provide this interesting, thought provoking & valuable education session that allows for real world competences to be shared and learnt.
We would like to thank all who attended the event for their participation and commitment to such an important cause. For more information on our CET events contact the OCCS via enquiries@opticalcomplaints.co.uk or call 0344 800 5071. For further information on the how to support The Macular Society and their hard work visit https://www.macularsociety.org/.
