Information for GPs
The easiest way for your patients with diabetes to be screened is to ensure that everyone with diabetes in your practice is correctly SNOMED CT coded as having the condition.
The screening programme will then receive a monthly list of everyone with diabetes – taken from regular data extracts from your practice system.
The screening programme will send an appointment to all new patients on that list. All existing patients known to the screening service, will receive appointments in accordance with their recall date.
If you have a newly diagnosed diabetic patient, and you don’t want to wait for the next monthly data patient list you can download and complete the New Patient Referral Form and email it to: bhn-tr.bedford.retinaladmin@nhs.net.
New-Patient-Referral-Form-BLMK-DESP-Mar2025
NB. Provided that the new patient has been correctly coded, there is no need to do this as the patient will be included in the following month’s data extract.
Further information
We write to all GPs if their patient does not attend their appointment. We would appreciate it if you could let us know if you know of any reasons why these patients may not be suitable for screening. For example:
- They do not have diabetes and were coded in error
- They are bedbound / housebound /medically unfit and should be marked as that on our register
- They are persistent DNAs with the practice
- They prefer to opt out of our service
- They are registered blind with no perception of light
- They are no longer registered with your practice
We feel by cleansing our register by moving patients who continually DNA into the correct pathway (e.g. medically unfit, not diabetic, opt out) will allow the Screening Programme to concentrate its efforts on the eligible population.
Secondly, if you find patients are suitable for screening, we would encourage the practice to speak to these patients in order to reiterate the importance of attending eye screening either on the phone, writing to them or when they come in for an appointment. We have found that this works well, as direct contact from the patient’s practice tends on having a bigger impact on encouraging them to attend.
GP Newsletter
We have produced a new Diabetic Eye Screening Programme Newsletter for Bedfordshire, Luton, and Milton Keynes for GPs, Diabetic Nurses and other professionals who are involved in supporting diabetic patients. This quarterly newsletter aims to keep you informed about key updates, screening performance, referral pathways, and any changes within the programme.
Click here for the June 2025 edition of the newsletter.