A new ophthalmology service celebrated its first birthday by reaching an important milestone: completing more than 5,000 intravitreal injections.
The nurse-led interventional service has been a major development in the treatment for patients in the medical retinal service since April 2024.
“We’re seeing more patients present with macular diseases,” Interventional Clinical Nurse Consultant (ICNC) Canice Jeremiah said.
“Gold Coast Health was supported by Mark Crocker from Sunshine Coast University Hospital to bring this service to the Gold Coast.
“We’re now the second area in Queensland to offer this, and it’s helping so many people prevent vision loss.”
The advanced practice model of care involves a registered nurse who has completed additional training to undertake the specific procedure, relieving pressure on ophthalmologists.
“We perform around 110 injections each week,” Interventional Clinical Nurse Consultant Rebecca Delacy said.
“Interventional Clinical Nurse Consultants handle the routine injections, freeing up specialist time for more complex cases or surgical procedures. It also reduces patient wait times and improves service efficiency, which has been great to see.”
The procedure takes around 5-7 minutes, with patients being provided topical anaesthetic eye drops.
The ICNC will then prepare the patient’s treating eye by cleaning the area with antiseptic solution, placing a sterile drape on patient’s face, and inserting a speculum to keep the treating eye open.
The ICNC will also utilise a scleral marker to identify the safest spot of entry and then inject the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) medication into patient’s eye with a fine 30G needle. Each consumer has the procedure every four to sixteen weeks.
“The team has expanded from one to three credentialled Interventional Clinical Nurse Consultants and the service has now grown from six to 10 sessions per week, which is incredible,” Nursing Director Naomi Thompson said.
“We’re really proud of how successful the service has been and can see what a difference it’s made to the patients.”
The team hopes to continue expanding their scope of advance practice to performing other minor ophthalmic procedures, such as minor eyelid lesion management and botox injections, at some point in the future.
