Moorfields Foundation Trust has launched a patient support service, offering emotional support to people with sight problems.
Moorfields Trust's director of Nursing and Allied Health professionals, Tracy Luckett says: "We have offered a number of services in the past at several of our sites but are now able to integrate all our patient support services under one manager. With the help of charitable support from a number of organisations we can now offer a one stop liaison and advice service."
The service is up and running at the trust's main site in London, It is made up of two nurse counsellors - one full time and one part time, four eye clinic liaison officers (ECLOs) and the Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI) team. "It doesn't happen in any other hospital in the way it does here. There are psychologists working in hospital eye clinics but there is no designated team looking at the psychological wellbeing of patients that I am aware of," says says nurse counsellor Jasmine Thombs.
Getting started
The service has been in the pipeline for a long time, after an integrated team was first put forward in 1999 as an option for looking after the emotional wellbeing of patients. It was set up following a successful charity bid, explains ECLO David Samuels.
The full time nurse counsellor's post is funded by the
Marie-Louise Von Motesiczky Charitable Trust which was arranged through
Moorfields Eye Charity. The new eye clinic liaison officer post which is based at Northwick Park and Ealing hospitals has been secured with the support of the
Friends of Moorfields and charity,
Action for Blind People.
"There was a recognition that something needs to be done to provide psychological support for patients. There has been no significant change in the way the hospital provides support for patients in distress for the past 100 years," explains Thombs. "We started a review in 2009 and it has taken this long to get the service together. he need for emotional support is well recognised in people with sight loss with 50 per cent of people registered exhibiting signs of depression four years later."
Who receives support
The service offered is confidential face-to-face counselling for eye clinic patients and relatives, at the time of diagnosis and during follow up. Patients are seen for an initial assessment and then offered further help if appropriate. The number of sessions offered is usually between six and 12.
The service also refers to external organisations including social services, charities, Action for Blind People local groups and other groups related to age, ethnicity or culture. "We might work with other counselling services and other mental health teams. We could see people with anything, from people with cataracts to people preparing for surgery to people who are suicidal due to cancer diagnosis of the eye," says Samuels.
The Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI) team
The counselling service has provided support to people in A&E as well as people with longer term sight problems. The involvement of the CVI team is also very important to the emotional support team as this is a key point in the patient's journey. "The point that people have a CVI completely can be a particularly emotional point for people and its good time to explain services available outside the hospital," says Samuels. The counsellors, the CVI team and the ECLO are all possible points of contact for someone wishing to refer a patient to the counselling service.
Future plans
Work at the moment is focused on making sure that other healthcare professionals in the trust know that they can refer to the emotional support team. "We need to get doctors on board to refer to us and increase awareness of what they need to refer," says Thombs. Patient support services are also being planned for Moorfield Trust's satellite sites this year.
More information
Article published in NB magazine March 2013.