North Mid's eye experts secure diabetic eye screening contract to help thousands of Londoners access care
Experts from North Middlesex University Hospital’s diabetic eye screening team (DESP) will continue to help tens of thousands of diabetic Londoners to beat sight loss, following the award of a new seven year contract by NHS England.
The eye team screens diabetic patients at hospitals as well as GP surgeries and clinics in Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington.
The service, known as North Central London Diabetic Eye Screening Programme (NCL-DESP) has been managed by North Middlesex University Hospital since its launch in 2012. Since then, it has supported over 70,000 people every year in north central London who live with diabetes.
Eye screening is a key part of diabetes care to check for diabetic retinopathy, a condition that can lead to sight loss if it's not detected and treated early. Everyone aged 12 and over with diabetes should receive screening once a year to help prevent eye damage and they should contact their GP if they are not already receiving screening.
North Mid’s team will continue to provide early morning and evening appointments at five sites, and Saturday clinics at six sites across the five boroughs of NCL.
Ali Askari, programme manager for the NCL-DESP said: “Regular eye screening is so important for people with diabetes. It’s an incredible privilege to support people living in north central London and I’m thrilled our expert team at North Mid are able to continue doing this for another up to seven years.”