Generous donations to hospital charity Leeds Hospitals Charity have enabled a 12-month appointment of a specialist nurse for ophthalmology patients at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. 

The ophthalmology service sees and treats patients with corneal problems from across the region each year. Some patients require a corneal graft where donated corneal material is transplanted.  

This can be a very frightening experience for patients, so surgery preparation and after care is extremely important. The Corneal Nurse Specialist is a dedicated nurse for patients to have someone to discuss any concerns or questions, changes in treatment and to have regular follow up appointments. 

Marise Jones was appointed into the position in March this year. The role involves counselling of patients, providing them with information and details of what to expect from their surgery, as well as offering post-operation aftercare. 

Marise has time to speak to patients and answer questions that medical and nursing staff wouldn’t otherwise have. This makes a huge difference to the experience the patient has in their treatment journey. 

There is also a direct telephone number for patients to call if they have any follow up queries. This number is operational during office hours, but patients can leave a message out of hours where they will be called back at the nearest possible time. 

Patients are enormously grateful for the work that Marise does and she is regularly sent card of appreciation from those finishing their treatment, 

Staff in the department are also delighted with the progress that has been made since her appointment. The role has created additional capacity in the follow–up service, which means more time is available for consultants to see new or complex patients.  

This has resulted in an improvement in the quality of the service – increasing staff efficiency and removing unnecessary wait times for patients. 

Deborah Hall, Head of Nursing Head, Neck  and Neurosciences said: “It’s been a difficult year, but the impact Marise has made is overwhelmingly positive. We are enormously grateful for the opportunity Leeds Hospitals Charity has given us to create and develop this role.”