Wessex offers excellent opportunities for trainees to acquire the skills needed to fulfill a career in ophthalmology – the study and treatment of disorders and diseases of the eye.
The mix of three larger and three smaller departments gives the right balance of support and allow trainees to develop confidence and expertise across a wide range of sub-specialties and academic disciplines, helping them to meet the challenges of one of medicine’s most rewarding careers.
At any one time there are between 24 and 28 trainees benefiting from the high-quality training provided by HEE Wessex, equipping them with the skills and attributes they will need to provide excellent care to patients during their career as a consultant ophthalmologist.
This seven-year training programme comprises a blend of emergency, outpatient and surgical training. There are annual reviews of competency progression (ARCPs) to help trainees to pass the Royal College of Ophthalmologists examinations with confidence. No Wessex trainee has failed to progress or been unable to complete training because of exam failure since the start of run-through training.
At the end of the scheme trainees will be ready to work as a consultant ophthalmologist. However, many of our trainees go on to undertake sub-specialist fellowships and work at internationally renowned ophthalmology units such as London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital, other major centres in the UK, plus eye departments in Australia and Singapore.
HEE Wessex offers a wide range of all the major sub-specialties, including:
- paediatric ophthalmology
- strabismus
- oculoplastics
- glaucoma
- cornea
- anterior segment
- medical retina
- uveitis
- vitreoretinal surgery
- cataract surgery (supported by an in-house surgical simulator at Bournemouth Eye Unit).
Training locations
Wessex ophthalmology training is based at three major centres:
- University Hospital Southampton
- Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth
- Royal Bournemouth Hospital
And at three smaller units:
- Salisbury NHS FT
- Hampshire Hospitals NHS FT
- Isle of Wight NHS Trust