CHEC, one of the largest community-based healthcare services in the UK, has provided premium Extended Depth of Focus (EDoF) lenses to patients for the first time, and has expanded the service across all its hospitals. This follows CHEC becoming the first provider of its type to offer the premium lenses free of charge, earlier this year.

As part of its mission to elevate patient care quality and become the industry’s leader in innovative ophthalmology solutions, CHEC now offers extended monofocal lenses to clinically eligible post-cataract surgery patients to enhance their subsequent range of vision, as part of its delivery of NHS services. Previously, anyone wanting these premium lenses would have to seek private care and pay for them, as they are not available on the NHS.

EDoF lenses represent a contemporary technology in cataract surgery compared to standard monofocal lenses. CHEC initially launched extended monofocal lenses across its Northern hospitals earlier this year, with site-wide expansion predicted to complete before the end of the year. This target has been reached several months early, with the standardised approach designed to increase efficiency in patient care.

Eileen Gill was the first patient to have the lenses inserted by CHEC, at its Stockport hospital. She said: “This has been a really positive experience. Admittedly I was worried as I’m not good with handling pain, however the whole procedure was pain free. I’m looking forward to seeing the difference in my distance and intermediate vision.”

Mahmoud Rabie, Clinical Director for Ophthalmology and Consultant Ophthalmologist for CHEC completed the first EDoF cataract surgery in Stockport and said: “During typical cataract surgery, the natural lens is replaced with a monofocal IOL – a good solution for providing uncorrected distance visual acuity. However, this still leaves patients reliant on glasses for tasks involving intermediate and near vision, such as working on a computer. Multifocal IOLs address these limitations, but have other drawbacks, such as visual disturbances including glare, halos and reduced contrast sensitivity.

“There has been growing demand for a lens that can do more, and now we are thrilled to be able to offer extended monofocal lenses as the groundbreaking innovation to solve the problem. The benefits they offer to patients are undeniable and we want to make them as accessible as possible. By adopting this advanced technology and offering it to patients who’ve been referred to CHEC, we’ll aim to deliver an elevated level of operational and clinical excellence to our NHS patients.”

Debbie Naylor, Regional Sales Manager at BVI Medical, the lens manufacturer which has collaborated with CHEC to provide the lenses as well as training and support for clinical staff, said: “We’re really proud to have partnered with CHEC and are pleased with how this first EDoF procedure has gone. We’re looking forward to working with CHEC to support NHS cataract surgery at all their hospitals, so patients right across the country can benefit from an improved field of vision.”