CESP (Surrey) @ Epsom and St Helier Trust

Updated 7 March 2018

Consultant Eye Surgeons Partnership (CESP) was established in 2007 and is a consultant-led partnership of ophthalmic specialists, all of whom are employed by an NHS trust based in Surrey.

A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a business arrangement commonly used in professional practice, in which each owner (partner) cannot be held legally responsible for another’s misconduct or negligence. In 2012, the Office of Fair Trading asked the Competition Commission (now the Competition and Markets Authority or CMA) to look at the way privately-funded healthcare services were marketed in the UK. The CMA published its report in 2014 and made a number of recommendations and orders aimed at fair competition and better information for consumers.

These changes also affected the way NHS trusts offered services to private patients and in this instance, CESP consultants elected to continue undertaking additional private work as part of a formal partnership. CESP comprises six ophthalmic specialists, one of whom is a non-practicing partner. The registered manager and nominated individual has been the partnership lead since 2012. This individual is also the NHS trust’s lead clinician for ophthalmology.

CESP provides elective ophthalmic services to private patients aged 18 or over, who have been referred by their optometrist or self-refer with visual problems caused by the formation of cataracts. The consultants specialise in intra-ocular surgery to remove cataracts and replace them with implanted plastic lenses, normally under anaesthetic eye drops. Other treatments designed to improve vision after cataract surgery are also offered, including laser therapy.

In addition to the service agreements with the trust and practising privileges granted by a nearby private hospital, the partnership has contracted with a medical business management company to coordinate patient bookings and the flow of records as well as control CESP records, files and policy documents.

Updated 7 March 2018

CESP (Surrey) is operated by Consultant Eye Surgeons Partnership (Surrey) LLP. The partnership is composed of six ophthalmic specialists, who are employed by an NHS trust.

CESP provides elective ophthalmic surgery to around 300 private patients annually, using facilities at the trust’s eye day care unit. Patients are generally referred by their optometrist and either fund their own treatment or pay through an insurer. These people have visual problems caused by the formation of cataracts, where the natural lens in the eye becomes cloudy. The service specialises in intra-ocular surgery to remove cataracts and replace them with implanted plastic lenses, usually under local anaesthetic. Other treatments designed to improve vision after cataract surgery are also offered, including laser therapy.

Updated 7 March 2018

Elective intra-ocular surgery was the activity of the service.

Initial consultation and surgical follow-up appointments were provided either at the NHS eye day unit or, if the patient desired, a separate location owned by a private hospital. Consultations were provided as part of the assessment before and after ophthalmic surgery.

We rated this service as good because it was safe, effective, responsive to people’s needs and caring. We rated well-led as requires improvement because some elements of governance and how risks to the organisation itself were managed needs more development.