The Impact of the First Peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic on a Paediatric Ophthalmology Service in the United Kingdom: Experience from Alder Hey Children's Hospital

Impact of Covid-19 on Pediatric Ophthalmology Care: Lessons Learned

The COVID-19 pandemic came with many new challenges that forced personal and professional lifestyle modifications. Medical facilities were in scarcity against this new unknown enemy and were challenged with the overloaded patient flow, scarcity of healthcare staff, and evolving treatment modalities with a better understanding of the virus each day. Ophthalmology as a "branch of medicine" suffered challenges initially because of a lack of guidelines for patient management, close working distance during routine examinations, and halt of major surgeries, including cataracts. Pediatric ophthalmology had major implications, as reduced outpatient visits would mean deeper amblyopia, and changed lifestyles, including online classes and home refinement, predisposing children to myopia, digital eye strain, and worsening of strabismus. COVID-19 also unveiled underlying accommodation and convergence anomalies that predisposed pediatric and adolescent patients to an increased prevalence of headache and acute onset esotropia. Teleophthalmology and other innovative solutions, including the use of prism glasses, safe slit-lamp shields, alternative ways of school screening with the use of photoscreeners, performing retinoscopy only when needed, and using autorefractors were among the few guidelines or modifications adopted which helped in the efficient and safe management of pediatric patients. Many pediatric ophthalmologists also suffered in terms of financial constraints due to loss of salary or even closure of private practices. School screening and retinopathy of prematurity screening suffered a great setback and costed a lot of vision years, data of which remains under-reported. Important implications and learnings from the pandemic to mitigate future similar situations include using teleophthalmology and virtual platforms for the triage of patients, managing non-emergency conditions without physical consultations, and utilizing home-based vision assessment techniques customized for different age groups. Though this pandemic had a lot of negative implications, the innovations, modifications, and other important learnings helped pediatric ophthalmologists in navigating safely.

'They could not see our eyes, they cannot see our faces, they do not know who we are and that is hard': a qualitative interview study with staff caring for children and families in a UK specialist children's hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES

Despite lower rates of illness, morbidity and mortality associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in children during the COVID-19 pandemic, their health and well-being has been significantly impacted. Emerging evidence indicates that this includes experiences of hospital-based care for them and their families. As part of a series of multisite research studies to undertake a rapid appraisal of perceptions of hospital staff, working during the pandemic, our study focused on clinical and non-clinical staff perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 on aspects of care delivery, preparedness and staffing specific to a specialist children's hospital.

DESIGN

Qualitative study using a qualitative rapid appraisal design. Hospital staff participated in a telephone interview. We used a semistructured interview guide, and recorded and transcribed all interviews. Rapid Research Evaluation and Appraisal Lab Rapid Assessment Procedure sheets were used to share data; team-based analysis was facilitated using a framework approach.

SETTING

Specialist children's hospital in London, UK.

PARTICIPANTS

Thirty-six staff representing a range of roles within the hospital: 19 (53%) nurses, 7 (19%) medical staff and 10 (28%) other staff groups (including radiographers, managers, play staff, schoolteachers, domestic and portering staff and social workers).

RESULTS

Three overarching themes relating to staff perceptions of the impact on children and families were identified, each containing subthemes: (1) same hospital but different for everyone, (2) families paid the price and (3) the digital world. They illustrated that providing care and treatment for children and families changed profoundly during the pandemic, particularly during lockdown periods. Adaptations to deliver clinical care, play, schooling and other therapies online were rapidly put into action; however, benefits were not universal or always inclusive.

CONCLUSIONS

The disruption to a central principle of children's hospital care-the presence and involvement of families-was of critical concern to staff, suggesting a need for the specific impact of COVID-19 on children's services to be accounted for.

An investigation of barriers and enablers to community eye care for children in England: A qualitative descriptive study

PURPOSE

Research suggests that there are challenges in the accessibility of eye care for children in England. This study explores the barriers and enablers to eye examinations for children under 5 years of age from the perspective of community optometrists in England.

METHODS

Optometrists working in community settings were invited to participate in virtual focus group discussions using an online platform based on a topic guide. The discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Themes were derived from the focus group data based on the study aim and research question.

RESULTS

Thirty optometrists participated in the focus group discussions. The overarching themes identified as barriers to eye examinations for young children in a community setting were as follows: 'Time and Money', 'Knowledge, Skills and Confidence', 'Awareness and Communication', 'Range of Attitudes' and 'Clinical Setting'. The key themes for enabling eye examinations for young children were as follows: 'Improving behaviour', 'Enhancing training and education', 'Enhancing eye care services', 'Raising awareness', 'Changes in professional bodies' and 'Balancing commercial pressures and health care'.

CONCLUSION

Time, money, training and equipment are perceived by optometrists as key factors in providing an eye examination for a young child. This study identified a need for improved training and robust governance related to eye examinations for young children. There is a need for change within eye care service delivery such that all children, regardless of age and ability, are examined regularly, and by conducting these examinations, optometrists remain confident.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on ophthalmic referrals within a tertiary academic center in Oman

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