"Southlands Eye Clinic Visit June 2018"

I have been a regular patient at the former Worthing Hospital Eye Clinic for almost 10 years and yesterday (17th June 2018) was my first visit to the new Southlands Eye Clinic for a check up and I had a first class experiance from start to finish.

The moment I arrived, I noticed the new 'black on yellow' signage around the room which is a great improvement to the signage at the former clinic at Worthign Hospital - so much easier to read. I was given a card by the receptionist to notify me which consultant i would be seen by. Within a few minutes, a nurse called me and I had my eye test on the new eye charts, pressure checked and drops admistered. All the way through, the nurse explained what he was going and the reason for it and also explained the next steps. He then took me to the imaging suite to await having pictures taken at the back of my eyes.

Within a few minutes another nurse called me and took the pictures, explaining where next to go and await a call to see the consultant.

Less than 5 minutes passed before i was called to see the doctor, who examined my eyes and spoke to me about how things were looking and details of where we go from here. He answered my questions that I had and at no point made me feel like he was in a rush or was short of time (even though he probably had dozens of patients waiting to see him!).

I left with a feeling that the new Eye Clinic at Southlands is a wonderful centre with a 'start to finish' process that seems slick and works well. I came knowing that I could be there for over 2 hours, however I was in and out in less than 40 minutes. Maybe i was just lucky on the day, but it seems to me that the new clinic is working well and giving a first class service.

Putting things in perspective, we must remember that this is a very over-subscribed service that is being provided and I am personally more than happy to wait my turn for a couple of hours in the waiting room to be seen by such first class professionals if it means I am able to retain my sight for many more years. What is a couple of hours compared to a lifetime of sight loss?

Thank you to all who helped me on the day.