• Harry W Roberts, Keshma Rughani, Padmanhaba Syam, Sumit Dhingra, and Susanna Ramirez-Florez.
• Eye Department, Peterborough and Stamford NHS Foundation Trust , Peterborough , UK and.
• Curr. Eye Res. 2015 Jul 1; 40 (7): 690-6.

AimsTo report on results of an innovative glaucoma shared-care scheme based in Peterborough, UK.MethodsA retrospective review of all new appointments with 11 community-based specialist optometrists in glaucoma (SOG) was conducted. There are two tiers of SOG, whereby tier 2 SOGs have increased levels of autonomy. All optometrist assessments were reviewed by a consultant ophthalmologist, and levels of agreement were calculated for assessment of optic nerve head appearance, Humphrey visual field test interpretation, diagnosis and outcome.Results1639 new patients were assessed by SOGs over a 4-year period. The median waiting time for patients from referral to SOG assessment was 0 days (IQR 0-56), and from SOG assessment to consultant review in a virtual clinic was 12 days (IQR 8-18days). After first appointment, over 60% of patients were classified as low-risk and remained within the SOG scheme. Rates of frank disagreement between SOG and consultant regarding diagnosis and proposed outcome were 5.6 and 10.4%, respectively, for tier 2 SOGs and 15.3 and 28.6%, respectively, for tier 1 SOGs.ConclusionsThe SOG scheme demonstrates acceptable levels of accuracy between SOG and glaucoma consultant. This scheme allows many stable low-risk patients to remain out of hospital eye department outpatient clinics.

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