YEOVIL Hospital patients who require eye surgery will now be able to access treatment under general anaesthesia rather than local anaesthesia for the first time in years.

The hospital previously didn’t have the facilities to provide general anaesthesia, but hospital bosses have now relocated the ophthalmology surgical unit to the “new state-of-the-art” facilities at the new day theatre.

The first operation under general anaesthesia took place at the hospital’s new day theatre in early summer, thanks to the work by vitreoretinal surgeon Mr Paritosh Shah.

Dr Sanjay Arampatta, lead ophthalmology anaesthetist at Yeovil Hospital, which is run by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, explained how this is such a big moment for the hospital.

“For many years the ophthalmology unit was located at the Yeatman Hospital, just across the border in Dorset, where we performed eye surgery for East Somerset patients,” he said.

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“We did front and back of the eye operations there, under local anaesthesia only, as that hospital didn’t have the facilities to provide general anaesthesia.

“But with the opening of our new day theatre at Yeovil Hospital last year, our ophthalmology team got together and decided to look at whether we could relocate all these procedures to Yeovil instead. This was feasible, and our ophthalmology surgical unit found a new home.

“We have state-of-the-art facilities at the new day theatre, and following a great deal of coordination with various teams, we’ve been able to offer general anaesthesia for both front and back of eye surgery, in suitable patients.

“This is fantastic news for those patients who don’t like to have eye surgery done under local anaesthesia, which involves eye drops and injections, as they previously needed to travel further afield to other hospitals to have their treatment done under general anaesthesia.

“Our surgeons couldn’t do this alone, and we want to thank our outpatient clinic and booking team colleagues, along with our anaesthetists, theatre and recovery nursing colleagues, who’ve all come together to make this happen.

“So far, we’re doing these lists every three to four weeks in selected patients, but we do have the ability to increase this frequency in the future should there be enough demand.”

Mr Paritosh Shah, a consultant ophthalmologist at Yeovil Hospital, said they have strived for years to provide the option of having surgery under general anaesthesia for patients who struggle with local anaesthesia during eye procedures.

“I am thrilled that, thanks to the incredible support of the Yeovil anaesthesia team, we can now offer general anaesthesia for eye surgery.

“Setting up a new service takes significant effort, and I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone involved. From doctors and nurses to managers, the eye theatre booking team, and everyone who stepped up – thank you for making this possible!

“This is truly a landmark achievement for our ophthalmology service at Yeovil.”