Saffron Cordery visits Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Located a short distance from Old Street station in London, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has spent over two centuries pioneering eye care treatment and professional training. With over 2,700 staff members caring for 700,000 patients annually across multiple locations, Moorfields continues to innovate in addressing visual health challenges.

During my recent visit to its Hoxton diagnostic hub, interim chief executive Peter Ridley and director of strategy and partnerships Elena Bechberger showcased their inspiring approach to patient care.

The Moorfield at Hoxton hub, established in 2020 to address care backlogs, specialises in high-volume, lower-complexity cases. This facility uses a ‘lane model’, which has transformed the patient experience. What once required three-hour appointments now takes just 45 minutes, with patients moving efficiently through a series of rapid diagnostic tests. Doctors later review these results remotely, reducing lengthy in-person visits.

As technician Daniel explained during our tour, the Hoxton hub currently serves 36,000 patients annually but has capacity to expand to 90,000.

This successful model is now being replicated across other sites, with Moorfields sharing their expertise with partners like the Royal Free Hospital and Whittington Health. A key aim is to bring diagnostic care closer to patients and Moorfields now operates hubs in a variety of locations including a shopping centre.

To give patients a greater say in where they have their appointments and to ensure that they see the right clinic for their condition, Moorfields now also operates a Single Point of Access system across most of North Central and North East London.

All patient referrals are quickly reviewed by clinicians from either Moorfields or the Royal Free London, and those referred for cataract surgery are given information about a number of different providers and locations closest to their home. The plans are to offer such choice for many more conditions in the near future. 

This approach offers multiple benefits. The single access point streamlines the patient journey while improving choice through multiple accessible locations. Moorfields data shows that 30% of patients changed their appointment location when given options, significantly reducing missed appointments.

Sharing best practice across trusts is hugely beneficial and Moorfields is taking a leading role in this. It trains and supports other technicians across the patch and has seen its hub models replicated in other areas across the country, such as Devon’s new eye clinic.

It's sharing communications with other community diagnostic centres as well to help improve ‘did not attend’ (DNA) rates and working with relevant ears, nose and throat clinics to consider how these working models can be replicated.

The innovations couldn't come at a more crucial time. By 2050, an estimated four million UK residents will experience sight loss. However, rapid technological advances create opportunities for treating and potentially curing visual impairments.

Central to this vision is the new centre for eye care, research and education that Moorfields is moving to in 2027, that will see its clinical services directly co-located with the groundbreaking research conducted by UCL’s Institute of Ophthalmology.

The ambitious new centre based in Camden will be a change for the workforce and the patients they serve, but also an important one if they are to continue innovating.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Moorfields Eye Hospital and witnessing its innovative patient care approach firsthand. The efficiency of the diagnostic hub was truly impressive. The new hospital site will provide both opportunities and challenges. which I know it'll make the most of.