The story of re-opening The Wimpole Eye Clinic after lockdown

After the first lockdown when doctors began to resume private practice I was asked by the business medical journal – The Independent Practitioner Today – to summarise the coronavirus precautions I had put in place when reopening my own clinic in June 2020 –– as well as telling the story of how The Wimpole Eye Clinic had come about.

A brief history of The Wimpole Eye Clinic

I was appointed consultant surgeon to Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in July 1995 and, having built up a private practice over the years both at Moorfields and at The London Clinic, it had been my long-term ambition to enjoy the independence – not to mention the legacy and the hoped-for investment value – of owning my own clinic.  My plan was to invite my closest sub-specialist colleagues to work with me – colleagues with whom I had worked closely for many years and whom I would happily refer all of my friends and family to (not just my mother-in-law!).  I had been looking unsuccessfully for premises in the Harley Street/Wimpole Street area for some time when one happy patient (I do actually have more than one!) asked if I had ever thought of owning my own clinic. Had I? I explained that, notwithstanding the expense, it seemed that all of the really suitable properties had already been bought up – mostly by someone called Howard de Walden!  Those still on the market, often after months or years, either needed major reconstructive surgery or had unworkable legal constraints. My ‘happy patient’ had been “in property” all of her career and reassured me that she was confident of finding something suitable for me. I reassured her in turn that I was confident that I would not be holding my breath!  Then, a few months later, she called with the news that a doctor who owned a clinic at 46 Wimpole Street, along with the freehold, was ‘thinking of selling’.  To this day she has not revealed to me how she had managed to read his mind! I went along the following day to take a look. It seemed perfect for developing into an eye clinic with plenty of space and a layout that permitted efficient patient flow – a valuable asset which was to become particularly useful for social distancing when the original lockdown was lifted.

After a six month period of refurbishment I opened The Wimpole Eye Clinic at 46 Wimpole Street, Marylebone, London W1, in October 2015 and proudly affixed my brass plate to the wall outside.  Of course, I then had to close on Monday the 23rd of March 2020 – the first day of the first lockdown – along with all private clinics. And to think that I had assumed that 2020, regarded as a very high standard of vision on the optician’s test chart (20/20 or 6/6), was certain to be a good year for eye specialists!

And so to lockdown.
My colleagues and I at Moorfields Eye Hospital had a great deal of NHS administration to carry out at the beginning of the lockdown, cancelling routine appointments for those patients who could be safely moved from outpatient clinic and operating theatre lists and then stratifying them for rebooking at a later date according to their level of risk.  We all took part in an “emergency or semi-emergency” rota, which made us feel that at least we were helping in some small way – that is to say ‘less guilty’ – while others were at risk on the frontline.  I convinced myself that, as it had been 35 years since I had been a casualty officer at University College Hospital, London, I would most certainly have been more of a hindrance than a help to those who were up to date in emergency medicine and actually knew what they were doing.  As I readily admit to friends and family: “I used to be a real doctor!”  I therefore kept my head below the Moorfields parapet and stuck to the hospital’s emergency rota!  But it must be said that, at best, our work at Moorfields Eye Hospital during the first lockdown was certainly very part-time. I only carried out one emergency corneal transplant (for trauma) in the three month period from March to June 2020.  We were, and are, acutely aware of course that it will take some time to clear the backlog of missed clinic appointments and operation dates caused by the lack of activity during all 3 lockdowns.

On the private side, a number of clinics reopened in or around June 2020, respecting the Government guidelines on social distancing and personal protective equipment (PPE) and seeing limited numbers of patients as clinical need versus risk, speciality, and premises allowed.

Essential step
I took the opportunity to ask the adviser who had helped with my original Care Quality Commission (CQC) application for The Wimpole Eye Clinic in 2015 to provide an on-site risk assessment with regard to Covid-19 precautions. This was an essential step and one which I strongly recommended (in my article in The Independent Practitioner Today) to any colleagues who were opening up their clinics at the same time. Although I had been familiar with the very strict guidelines adopted by Moorfields Eye Hospital during the lockdown, and I was familiar with the numerous precautions in place, there were several other very constructive suggestions made at the on-site inspection specific to my own clinic. The adviser also provided a comprehensive 30 page COVID-19 protocol and the key points are set out in the box below:

There was certainly a great deal of work to do to prepare The Wimpole Eye Clinic for reopening in June 2020 but the rigorous measures that we put in place at the time meant that we were confident that we could safely reopen. We were all very pleased to be able to open up our doors once again in the confidence that all possible safety measures had been put in place.  It was good to be back.

I hope to see you soon,

David Gartry and team at the Wimpole Eye Clinic