Spotlight on Moorfields Eye clinic liaison officers (ECLOs)

As part of its sight loss awareness campaign, each month Moorfields will highlight how its providing support to patients with sight loss. This month, our spotlight is on the Eye clinic liaison officers (ECLOs). Find out what role they play in the patient experience, and how you can get suppport from our team. 

Emotional and practical support

Moorfields ECLOs work closely with ophthalmologists, optometrists, ophthalmic nurses and other clinic staff to support patients newly diagnosed with sight loss, and those receiving ongoing treatment. ECLOs are often the first point of referral for people living with sight loss, and they support patients dealing with the changes sight loss has on their lives.

More than 90% of people in the UK with sight loss or sight problems are not offered formal counselling by their eye clinic after diagnosis. Providing emotional and practical support to patients with sight loss makes an invaluable difference - being diagnosed with an eye condition can be difficult to come to terms with. It can be an extremely confusing and uncertain time, and in many cases emotionally traumatic. People with sight loss are three times more likely to suffer depression.

Communicating with empathy

This is where Moorfields ECLOs come in. Our dedicated team of staff provide compassionate and useful support to patients, including guidance on accessing services outside of the hospital. With more than 1,000 patients cared for by the team each year, the ECLO service at Moorfields runs across sites, from City Road to satellite clinics across the North and South Divisions.  

The eye clinic liaison team supports patients in the hospital and remotely including running virtual events. They help patients complete their certificate of vision impairments (CVIs). This is important as it formally certifies someone as visually impaired and acts as a referral for a social care assessment.

“I absolutely love empowering patients, giving them the tools and resources to regain their confidence and thrive as individuals living with sight loss,” says Jessica Kyriacou, Eye clinic liaison officer coordinator at the trust.

What support is available?

Watch this video of Jess explaining all the ways in which the ECLO team can help patients, and why their role in supporting patients is so vital.

How to get support from the ECLO team

Patient are usually referred to the team by their clinical team but patients can contact the ECLOs direct  by emialing moorfields.cityroadeclo@nhs.net or calling them on 0207 566 2355.

Charitable support

Our ECLOs are funded by the trust and Moorfields Eye Charity (MEC), with the support of the Marie-Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust. With thanks to them, the trust is able to continue its expansion of the programme and will be offering more support to patients through patient-led groups and virtual talks.

 

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