11 and 16 October 2017
During a routine inspection
The London Eye Hospital is a private hospital providing a range of eye treatments and surgical procedures to adults. All patients are self-funding. Although they offer treatments for a wide range of eye conditions, they specialise in lens implants and cataract treatment. One of the procedures carried out as part of the service is lens implants for patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) which is a progressive disease of the macula (the central area of the retina) and a cause of sight loss. The total number of lens implant surgeries carried out between September 2016 and September 2017 was 379.
The London Eye Hospital is operated by The London Eye Hospital Limited. There are two locations linked to London Eye Hospital Limited, namely 4 Harley Street and 29a Wimpole Street. Both locations are named The London Eye Hospital. Number 4 Harley Street provides the outpatient service for the hospital where pre and post-operative consultations take place. Number 29a Wimpole Street is the site where all the surgical procedures take place. This report relates to 29a Wimpole Street only.
We carried out this inspection in response to concerns received in August 2017 about the type of lens implanted in surgery between 2014 and 2015 at the Wimpole Street location and some aspects of pre and post-operative care and treatment provided at this hospital. We responded to these concerns by carrying out an unannounced inspection on 11 and 16 October 2017. The inspection did not address all our key lines of enquiry but focused only on the issues raised by the information received. The inspection focused on safeguarding, consent, complaints, patient outcomes, and governance arrangements. Prior to this responsive inspection, we had carried out a comprehensive inspection of the service in December 2016.