Laurentine sees the light
A retired nurse says patients shouldn’t be afraid of coming into hospital for surgery, despite ongoing fears about Covid-19.
Laurentine Jean-Jacques, 81, recently had a cataract operation at Central Middlesex Hospital whose ophthalmology service continued to operate during the height of the pandemic and was the first service in London to re-start elective cataract eye surgery.
The grandmother of six saw her procedure delayed several times because of an ongoing heart condition and is thankful to finally see the light.
Laurentine said: “It took less than 20 minutes to do the operation and I regained full sight in my eye within a couple of days.
“I didn’t have any issues with coming into hospital and the team even got my appointment changed from Moorfields to Central Middlesex because it’s closer to where I live in Harrow.
“It’s great to be able to see again and the pre-assessment nurse put me at ease so I didn’t feel worried about coming into hospital.”
Eye surgeon Evelyn Mensah added: “It was our pleasure and privilege to have operated on Mrs Jean-Jacques’s eye. Patients in London should be reassured that our eye units have established a patient-centric and safe approach to conducting cataract surgery.
Central Middlesex Hospital, along with its counterparts as Ealing Northwick Park and St Mark’s, have been adapting the way they operate so staff can continue to treat and care for patients safely while Covid-19 remains a threat.