Eye Check-up at the nursing home

"I'd still want to leave in front of the entrance to the nursing home," says the elderly lady in a wheelchair. But then everything went very fast, and the visit to the eye doctor came. All the more grateful to the 92-Year-old is that you can leave here in the Zurich care center Bombach your eyes examined. "I've been waiting for. My eyes have diminished."

at Least once per year, the eye mobile, which operates the Zurich eye doctor Barbara Bachmann and some of her colleagues comes directly to the residents in this home. "In practice I've seen over the years, how painful it is for my elderly patients to have their eyes examined," says Bachmann. Your practice is like many others, in Switzerland – not wheelchair accessible.

A course for the eyes

For the elderly in the nursing home, going to the eye doctor is often particularly cumbersome and time-consuming. Firstly, because your estate more difficult to the end of vision, the orientation, and, secondly, because they often need accompaniment, as well as a wheelchair will not be familiar with end-to-end vehicle with a Chauffeur and, thirdly, because those with dementia in an unfamiliar environment and often restless.

As Barbara Bachmann came up with the idea with the eyes mobile. As of two years ago better and handy cameras came on the Market in order to photograph the retina, in order to put your idea. "The devices from the practice in various nursing homes, is not practical. Now, however, the manufacturers develop more and more small investigation apparatus," says the eye doctor, which does not lead the investigations in the homes itself.

make your three trained members of staff. You've come very Early in the morning with their vans, set up in a large room of the care center to the devices, adjusted and a little "eye-trail" created. The Whole thing is reminiscent of the circuit training for sports, only that here, at each Station, a different investigation is taking place. Everything is wheelchair friendly, the place is familiar to the inhabitants, and the distances are short – to simplify the process.

As dementia

Already in the run-up to the eyes mobile had caught up with the Team the key information to all patients enrolled on this day: allergies, medications, diseases, in particular Diabetes. diagnosed Because people with diabetes are more likely to develop the eye.

"a Lot of old people don't look so bad, that you recognize other people. This is then interpreted as dementia. But in reality, it is a visual impairment." Barbara Bachmann, eye doctor

The eye examination begins with the determination of the visual acuity. "Can you recognize the letters?", Bach's colleague, asks a resident who is looking intently into the auto Refractometer, and trying to decipher letters and Numbers. For seniors the eye treatment means often a large gain in quality of life, says Bachmann. "A lot of old people look so bad that you can't recognize other people, or the watch does not read. This is then interpreted as dementia. But in reality, it is a visual impairment."

about 15 percent of nursing home residents who were previously examined with the eyes mobile, have the glasses not voted. "This is more than usual in practice," States Bachmann. The eye examination was also, indirectly, a fall prevention.

At the next Station, the eye pressure is measured. "Try to open the eye well, now a fine Stiftli touches the eye, perhaps you feel," explains Bach's employee of the patient the expiration.

SURGERY for cataracts is often useful

Recently and the staff to photograph the lens of the eye and the fundus of the eye. A specially trained medical photographer, power of each eye, the eyelids and the eye background pictures. All results are electronically transmitted directly in Bach's practice, where the eye doctor evaluates it and your Council by letter sent.

all in All, the examination takes around half an hour, about 12 to 16 residents supplied the eye mobile in a day.

At about one per eight persons studied, it turned out that an Operation for cataract would be useful. And, in some cases, the eye found a doctor, something that further investigations or treatments required, for example, a vessel closure in the eye, or macular degeneration, so damage to the body in the eye, with the man on the sharpest looks.

all in All, the examination takes around half an hour, about 12 to 16 residents supplied the eye mobile in a day. Including, for example, people no longer dare out of fear for years, to leave the house, or investigate due to their dementia or else only with great effort to.

Shockingly poor visibility

"For nursing home residents with dementia, a doctor's visit outside the house is a large burden, and for the Caring it means a big effort. It takes a quick two hours to accompany a resident there. The Alternative is that members go along, but this is not always feasible," explains Gabriela Bieri-Brüning, chief of Geriatric service of the city of Zurich.

Also, if someone suffers from dementia, it is a large gain in quality of life, to see better."Gabriela Bieri-Brüning, chief of Geriatric service of the city of Zurich

the eye finds mobile is a good thing. "This is very helpful. We scare again and again how bad a lot of seniors to see. Because the vision decreases slowly, noted that often no one. Even if someone suffers from dementia, it is a large gain in quality of life, to see better," says Bieri. Often you can achieve with little effort to improve. Last year, Bachmann, and her eyes started mobile Team in the Zurich nursing centres Bombach and brook meadows in a pilot test.

Previously, you had to leave from the Directorate of Health concept grant, including emergency management, information about the patient's safety, privacy, quality control, and more. To be able to, where necessary, improve, respondents to the pilot test patients, patients as well as nurses to their opinion. The satisfaction was great, so Bieri.

Soon, in other cantons

All The best this year wanted to join in so good that all eight care centres in the city of Zurich. Not every eye doctor visit could be so avoided, but the regular controls. "With the eyes of mobile, we offer a basic Check. More specific tests or treatments be necessary, we will assign the patient to your previous eye doctor or organize the next steps, if they had not," explains Bachmann.

is Billed according to the Tariff, the costs for the patient are not higher than when they visit a practice – the effort, but they account for a much smaller, and the cost of transport, because the nurses bring the patient and re-get. Meanwhile, Bachmann has also found optician that adapt to the residents in the nursing home, the newly-prescribed glasses.

it is Planned, the mobile eye examination further nursing homes in the Canton of Zurich to offer and the Rayon in the medium term, on the neighbouring cantons to extend.

More info: www.augenmobil.ch

Created: 08.12.2019, 21:35 PM