The Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion (PAEP) is a stand-alone teaching hospital based in the heart of Edinburgh. We see a combination of inpatients, day cases and outpatients. We have 7 floors of services (5 being clinical and 2 non clinical areas) and see around 150,000 patients per year to treat and manage various different eye conditions.
A multi-disciplinary team of Healthcare Support Workers, Staff Nurses, Nurse Specialists, AHP’s, ANP’s, medical staff, opticians and many more work together to create a service that delivers a patient centered care approach to ophthalmology.
Location in Lothian:
We are based next to the Lauriston building near the Meadows in the centre of Edinburgh; our directorate is Head and Neck and therefore are part of St John’s Hospital management. There are various delis, shops and coffee shops within walking distance from the hospital and the Meadows is only a 3 minute walk away. The excellent location and local amenities helps provides a good work life balance, and a positive impact on wellbeing. We have excellent bus links and 2 train stations within a 25 minute walk. There is limited onsite parking and a permit is required for this.
Specialities Available:
Triage – A nurse led service comprising of highly skilled ophthalmic nurses who received calls from all over Lothian and Scotland. The referrers require expert guidance and ophthalmic advice and our nurses use their expertise to appropriately mange and arrange reviews.
Acute Referral Clinic (ARC) – Accepts referrals throughout Lothian and is where urgent and emergency cases are seen. Nursing staff will assess and manage these patients under the instruction of the medical team. Examples of urgent and emergency conditions include; blunt force trauma, penetrating eye injuries, chemical injuries, corneal ulcers and acute angle closure glaucoma. Nursing staff are trained to a high level in managing these conditions and undertake specialist training to do so.
Outpatients (EOPD) – Our largest department and can see upwards of 130 patients per day. A fast paced busy environment which requires quick decision making, excellent organisational skills and staff able to adapt and problem solve. Staffs are trained to carry out the following skills; assessing visual acuity, checking ocular pressure, administering eye drops, colour vision tests, measuring corneal thickness and taking comprehensive patient histories. Staffs also undertake Fundus fluorescein angiography to check for leaks and various conditions at the back of the eye. Paediatric clinics are also undertaken within this area.
Inpatient Ward (E2) – Our 10 bedded ward and day case unit. Patient can be admitted from one night to weeks depending on the ophthalmic condition. Patients are admitted for ophthalmic conditions that require daily review and intensive treatment. Our ward is an excellent place to hone general nursing skills and develop knowledge of pre, peri and post operative conditions. You will have the opportunity to admit, care for and discharge patients for various surgeries as well as care for inpatients that have conditions that require specialised ophthalmic nursing skills.
Third Floor (E3) – Our macular service where patients attend to undergo specialised eye injections delivered by a nurse led service. Like other ophthalmic outpatient departments E3 undertakes a variety of ophthalmic skills to ensure the patients are fully assessed within this area. Staffs undertake pre injection assessments, post injection care, macular and diabetic assessments and have the unique opportunity to assist our nurse specialists in custom made injection rooms. This area also houses a genetics clinic, clinical research team and the Lothian diabetic screening service.
Fourth Floor (E4) – E4 is where our highly advanced ophthalmic machines are used. Much like EOPD nursing staff will undertake; assessing visual acuity, checking ocular pressure, administering eye drops, colour vision tests, measuring corneal thickness and taking comprehensive patient histories. Along with this there are many skills that are specific to E4 these include; assessing patient for laser eye surgery, carrying out cataract assessments including biometry and the development of the nurse led service for assessing patients for general anaesthetic. E4 carries out corneal reviews with specialised equipment to monitor and check for progression of disease. These machines can measure corneal curvature and individual cells within the cornea. There is a surgical theatre where ocular-plastic consultants undertake surgeries assisted with our nursing staff.
Out of Hours – As a standalone building the nursing team have to have advances skills in recognition of the deteriorating patient and be aware of how and when to escalate concerns in relation to ophthalmic and medial situations. Out of hours our medical team are available via telephone. Our nursing staffs require expert skills in problem solving, conflict management, decision making and escalation when working out of hours.
Band 6 skills – We have 13 highly trained ophthalmic nurse specialists who undertake nurse led services. These include intra-vitreal injections, minor operations, botox administration,. Laser eye surgery, nurse practitioner clinics, corneal cross linking and assessing patients who suffer from watery, itchy, dry eyes.
What We Can Offer/Development Opportunities:
All of our ophthalmic skills are underpinned within our competency framework. As a new member of staff you will be allocated a mentor to support you through this training, Each skill encompasses practical and theoretical skills and working alongside your mentor you will be signed of in each skill.
Education and Competencies – Don’t worry if you don’t have any ophthalmic nursing experience we are all general trained staff nurses who have chosen to specialise in ophthalmics and all training required is taught in house by our experience ophthalmic staff. We have various different opportunities to develop ophthalmic skills, these include; post graduate course in ophthalmology. There are also opportunities to undertake MSc in ophthalmology, non-medical prescribing and opportunities to attend ophthalmic conferences throughout the UK.
What our staff and students say:
“I love the variety of experiences you can get in one area”
“As much as there are 5 teams over 4 floors we are all very much part of the same team and all enjoy working with each other”
“It’s a great place to learn new skills and develop yourself”
“It is one of the most support environments I have worked”
“The staff always look very happy”.
Website:
The Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion – Going to Hospital (nhslothian.scot)
Service contact:
The Senior Charge Nurse can be contacted via 07973670621
