NEC Care wins HSE contract to provide diabetic retinopathy eye screening throughout Ireland
NEC Care, part of NEC Software Solutions (NECSWS) has been awarded the contract to become the HSE’s single provider of diabetic eye screening throughout the Republic of Ireland.
Under the new contract, NEC Care will now deliver diabetic eye screening services across 160 sites in all 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland.
NEC Care, part of NEC Software Solutions (NECSWS) has been awarded the contract to become the HSE’s single provider of diabetic eye screening throughout the Republic of Ireland.
Over the life of the contract, NEC Care will support the HSE’s Diabetic RetinaScreen programme by providing retina screening to people with diabetes. Diabetic retina screening helps to identify early signs of retinopathy, leading to treatment that can reduce or prevent damage to people’s sight. The new contract will facilitate robust reporting and a streamlined approach to service provision across the entire country.
NEC Care was one of two providers contracted to deliver the Diabetic RetinaScreen programme since it first started in Ireland in 2013, working to provide regular eye screening for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes aged 12 years and olderacross a large part of the country.
Under the new contract, NEC Care will now deliver diabetic eye screening services across 160 sites in all 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland. Working with the Diabetic RetinaScreen programme, NEC Care will focus on identifying more innovative ways to deliver screening nationally.
Last year, in recognition of its role in delivering continuous improvement for Diabetic RetinaScreen, the NEC Care team won the Irish Healthcare Award for Excellence in Healthcare Management.
Its screening software OptoMize helps to optimise care for more than one million people each year for diabetic eye disease and supports 75% of NHS screening programmes for people with diabetes/NHS programmes screening people for diabetes in the UK, as well as five other national schemes, including Ireland. NECSWS also delivers Ireland’s newborn national hearing screening programme to help identify early hearing loss quickly so babies can get the intervention they need.
Diabetic RetinaScreen Clinical Director Professor David Keegan said: “NEC Care has been part of the Diabetic RetinaScreen programme since it started in 2013 and we are looking forward to continuing to work with the NEC Care team, working together as part of the ongoing development of the programme.”
“Every aspect of the programme is quality assured and NEC Care is a crucial part of ensuring that we meet, and where possible, exceed, our quality standards. Our quality standards allow every person who participates in the programme to have confidence in our ability to deliver a sight saving screening service.”
Diabetic RetinaScreen Programme Manager Helen Kavanagh said: “Diabetic RetinaScreen provides an essential service to the Irish public that would not be possible without the dedication and professionalism of everyone involved in the programme. By providing community-based screening across 160 sites around Ireland, we work to make diabetic retinopathy screening accessible to everyone.”
“NEC Care is a key part of our programme, and we look forward to working together in the years ahead.”
Lydia Saunders, executive director for health and services at NECSWS said: “We will continue to bring innovative solutions that put patients at the heart of healthcare management. People with diabetes who are at risk of eye disease will benefit from frequent and local access to new technologies to reduce their risk, and our patient management system will ensure there is consistency of care across the whole country. A single patient activity database will enable the NSS to identify trends, risk factors and patterns in treatment outcomes that will support clinical decision making.”
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