AQW 7194/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 18/09/2020
Answered On Date: 05/10/2020
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health when the artificial eye clinic will restart.

Answer:

Due to the onset of the current COVID-19 pandemic all Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) outpatient appointments were cancelled with immediate effect on 19 March 2020. From that date, only emergency or clinically urgent consultations were permitted to take place.

However, the regional Artificial Eye Service, which is based at the Shankill Wellbeing and Treatment Centre, has implemented an innovative drive-through service, in order to see patients that require urgent maintenance of their prosthesis. When the patient arrives staff take the prosthesis into the clinic facility for maintenance and, after work has been completed, return it to the patient who remains in their car throughout.

BHSCT are currently carrying out a risk assessment and are planning to restart the Artificial Eye Service as soon as possible, with the aim of recommencing by the end of October 2020.