CSH has been awarded another Seeing is Believing Innovation Fund* grant for the second phase of developing a web-based audit toolkit for measuring the triple bottom line of cataract surgery.
During the pilot phase of the project, the team developed and piloted a globally-accessible audit tool for cataract surgery, consisting of a phone App and a data entry website. This toolkit enables surgeons, eye units, governments and NGO's to capture data associated with the cataract services they provide and allows surgical units to view their own service in terms of productivity, costs, carbon-emissions, and resource consumption over time, and to benchmark these against other users.
So far, the tool has been tested in four different hospitals: Aravind hospital in India, Groote Schuur Hospital in South Africa and two hospitals in the UK. All hospitals have engaged with cost and waste/carbon footprint parameters. These have focused on the use of re-usable versus single-use instruments, reduced packaging (acknowledging legislation), reduced minimum surgical tray stocks, recycling options, powering off and also patient/staff transport.
During the next phase, the toolkit will be refined and the testing expanded to include another 14 sites across the seven regions of the International Agency of Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). We are very much looking forward to expand our international project team!
* Seeing is Believing (SiB) is Standard Chartered’s flagship community investment programme which provides funding to address avoidable blindness and promote quality eye health. Through Seeing is Believing, Standard Chartered Bank has partnered with the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) and leading international eye-care non-governmental organisations to improve access to eye care across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America, https://www.iapb.org/news/seeing-believing-launches-phase-3-innovation-fund.
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