THE eye department at Worcestershire Royal Hospital has been named the best in the country for patients with glaucoma.

The hospital’s ophthalmology team was named best glaucoma ophthalmic unit in the UK in the International Glaucoma Association (IGA) annual awards ceremony last week.

The department was chosen as the winner after nominations from both patients and IGA regional managers who visit eye departments across the country.

The hospital’s lead consultant for ophthalmology Tarun Sharma set up the county’s glaucoma service in 2008 and attended the ceremony to receive the award.

“We are very proud to receive this award from the IGA and are thrilled to hear that positive patient feedback was the reason we were nominated,” he said.

“We have put patients at the centre of their care and so it is pleasing to receive this recognition from them.”

Before Mr Sharma set up the service patients in Worcestershire in need of complex glaucoma or cataract surgery needed to travel to Birmingham for treatment. The unit is recognised nationally and internally for its work.

The next year the team set up the Worcestershire Glaucoma Support Group, which meets regularly to provide patients with the condition and their families with advice and support.

IGA chief executive Russell Young called the department “a worthy award winner”.

“It has demonstrated how staff and patients can work together to both raise public awareness of glaucoma and educate patients about their condition,” he said.

“The glaucoma support group is consistently well attended, which is largely driven by the sustained effort on behalf of all of the staff.”

A website for the support group was also recently launched at www.worcestershireglaucomasupport.co.uk, believed to be the only one of its kind in the country.