Eye unit will transform treatment in region

The Bradford School of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of Bradford is to launch an electrodiagnostic testing unit which will be able to assess patients from across West Yorkshire.

The new unit means that people from the area thought to be suffering from a range of eye diseases will no longer have to travel as far afield as Manchester or Newcastle to undergo key diagnostic tests.

Having a unit in West Yorkshire will cut journey times and reduce the length of the anxious waiting period for patients, says Bradford University.

Declan McKeefry, reader in visual neuroscience and director of the electrodiagnostic unit, said: "At present, there is little or no provision for this kind of diagnostic testing in the West Yorkshire region.

"Currently, patients are being sent to centres in Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle in order for these tests to be performed.

"This is unsuitable from both the point of view of patients, as well as for clinicians who are exploring ways to improve waiting times. Our aim is to provide a quality visual electrodiagnostic service to the region, embedded into the existing academic research and clinical infrastructure of Bradford School of Optometry and Vision Science."

The new unit will carry out tests for NHS and private hospitals in the region, allowing doctors to manage particular eye diseases more efficiently.

Shafiq Rehman, consultant ophthalmologist at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS trust, said: "This is a wonderful development, it's about time that we had access to specialised ocular electrodiagnostic services in the Yorkshire region."