PATIENTS can look forward to better and faster treatment of eye conditions thanks to a £1 million investment boost.

York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust says the investment in ophthalmology services, includes new diagnostic equipment which has been purchased for Malton, Scarborough, Bridlington and York hospitals.

Jan van Der Hoek, ophthalmology consultant at Scarborough Hospital, said: “The new machines are better quality than before, plus we have a range of extra equipment. This means less invasive and shorter treatment times for patients.

“There has also been a significant investment in clinical, nursing and technical staff which will allow the team to expand their services to meet the demand of the local population.”

At Scarborough Hospital, the investment has been spent on new patient chairs, cameras, lasers and analysers to diagnose and treat glaucoma and state-of-the-art laser technology that allows treatment to reduce the number of patients relying on long-term eye drop medication, thus reducing the number of visits to clinic.

New cutting-edge technology is also offered at York Hospital with the introduction of an endo cyclodiode laser, which shows the precise target tissue for treatment in the eyes of patients having cataract surgery. Up to now it has only been available in Leeds and Manchester.

In addition to the investment by the trust, Malton League of Friends have funded all new equipment for Malton Hospital, which includes visual field analysers that measure people’s field of vision, an advanced retinal camera and technology that can scan people’s eyes and track eye disease.

Consultant ophthalmologist Richard Gale added: “This investment will provide much improved care for our patients across all sites enabling us to monitor any changes in condition and respond to these changes in a timelier manner.”