New community eye clinic for Lancashire is opened

A new permanent eye care facility has opened in the heart of Bamber Bridge, just three miles from Preston.

Opened yesterday by the Mayor and Mayoress of South Ribble Borough Council, the new Practice Plus Group facility has been purpose built due to higher patient demand in the area.

The new purpose-built ophthalmology treatment centre will primarily focus on treatment of Adult Macular Degeneration (AMD) – the number one cause of sight loss in the UK, affecting 1.5 million people each year. 

As well as the Mayor and Mayoress, the Practice Plus Group team also welcomed guests from The Macular Society, the Lancashire Local Optical Committee, as well as new and existing patients from the region.

Run by a skilled ophthalmology team, the Practice Plus Group Ophthalmology Treatment Centre, will replace its former mobile eye unit situated in B&Q car park, Craven Drive, Preston, which has served the local community and surrounding areas for seven years – freeing up the mobile unit to cover a broader area and give greater access to eye treatments to people in neighbouring communities.

The Preston-based eye clinic will provide a permanent fixed-site in Bamber Bridge, located at Unit 10, Cottonmill Road, to support the group’s extensive mobile eye clinic programme in the region.  

The centre will serve as a central hub for eye care in the Preston region, and complement the group’s 20 mobile eye clinics each week for patients located in Chorley, Longridge, Fulwood, Tameside, Bury and Yorkshire as well as Winchester in the South of England.

Practice Plus Group’s CQC rated ‘Outstanding’ eyecare clinics are estimated to reduce waiting times and provide quick and effective treatment for patients who have been GP or optician referred for Wet AMD, diabetic macular oedema or retinal vein occlusions. Patients will be offered an appointment well within the national two-week referral guidelines.

Since launching its well-regarded eye-treatment clinics in 2014 the group has invested significantly into its treatment services on behalf of the NHS. The new high-specification clinic at Bamber Bridge incorporates a welcoming reception area, waiting room, assessment suites and treatment rooms in which patients receive the sight-stabilising injections required for AMD treatment.

The prestigious treatment centre has been under development for the past nine months and has been built by local contractors Fast Fix. The centre will provide greater access to premium eye-care. 

Caroline McHugh service director for Ophthalmology, said: "We are delighted to expand our services in the North of England with the opening of our new specialist eye clinic in Bamber Bridge.

 “We aim to offer patients the very best in ophthalmic care and we continue to deliver excellent outcomes.

"Our new permanent treatment centre will be a central hub for people of Bamber Bridge and surrounding areas and brings with it a skilled team of eye-specialists and boasts lower waiting times and a one stop diagnosis and treatment approach".

Special thanks to everyone who joined us this afternoon especially the Mayor and Mayoress of South Ribble Borough Council, The Macular Society, and the Lancashire Local Optical Committee.