New national clinical director for eyecare

Louisa Wickham

Louisa Wickham, consultant ophthalmologist and medical director at Moorfields Eye Hospital, has been appointed by NHS England (NHSE) as the first-ever national clinical director for eyecare.

With responsibility for developing national strategies and overseeing eyecare across England, the appointment is expected to put ophthalmology, which is the largest generator of outpatient appointments, on a par with other major specialties.

Louisa joined Moorfields in 2009 as a consultant in vitreoretinal surgery and medical retina. She has published widely on the subject of retinal disease and is currently involved in a number of clinical research projects. Louisa has a particular interest in surgical innovation and pathway transformation, helping to lead the cataract drive, reducing the waiting list by intensively focussing resources on cataracts to quadruple the number of operations at Moorfields in a week. She also works with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and Royal Society of Medicine to promote clinical leadership for doctors at all stages of their training.

Professor Bernie Chang, president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, commented: “We are delighted that Louisa Wickham, a longstanding member of the college, has been appointed. Louisa has a wealth of experience and senior leadership to build on the work that NHS England and other key stakeholders in the eye health sector have worked on to improve the challenges facing the ophthalmic workforce.”

Louisa said: “I am delighted that ophthalmology has been recognised as a specialty by the creation of this position, and it is an honour to be the first national clinical director for eyecare. I am looking forward to working with partners from across the system to develop a national strategy for eyecare and I am relishing the challenge of helping to tackle the post-pandemic eyecare backlogs across the country.”