Published on: 30 June 2025
A team which offers a gold standard service will boost its sight-saving care as it looks to treat even more patients when it moves into a new hospital fit for the future.
Sunderland Eye Infirmary’s Cataract Treatment Centre (CTC) is one of the biggest services of its kind in the country.
It carries out up to 7,000 operations a year using its two theatres. Now it is looking ahead to that number rising, with a third theatre to be added when the hospital moves into a new building on the Riverside Sunderland site.
A patient undergoing a cataract operation at Sunderland Eye Infirmary.
The city centre hospital will open in summer 2026. It will give the team and other departments surroundings which reflect their highly-regarded status. With June marking Cataract Awareness Month, this means the move will have been made by this time next year.
The aging building in Queen Alexandra Road is a challenge to run, with its old plumbing, heating systems and infrastructure making it difficult for its CTC team to work in.
The existing theatres are not designed with modern care and patient experience in mind.
But when the service makes the move to the new site, the rooms and journey through the department for a procedure will be tailor-made.
The third theatre will be brought into use gradually to expand the service, offering more operations to help meet a rising demand.
The CTC will be housed on the third floor, with admission, preparation, theatre, recovery and discharge rooms connected for a seamless experience. The outpatient department which runs as part of the CTC will also be located on the same floor.
The service has been hailed as the gold standard for the pathway – the journey the patient follows to undergo their operation – as part of the NHS’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme. This aims to bring about higher-quality care in hospitals, at lower cost, by reducing variations and practices.
The CTC also offers a service independent providers cannot. This includes sedation and treatment for more complex cases. The team can also take care of patients who need more than one treatment in one session. This includes patients with glaucoma, who need a microshunt – a tiny tube – put into their eye to drain fluid to help reduce pressure.
The hospital is also one of few centres who offer toric lenses to cataract patients. These are used to help those with astigmatism. This is when the eye us curved in a way which causes blurring of vision.
Patients who are assessed as meeting a criteria will be considered for these.
Unlike many other services, the same nurse accompanies the patient throughout their treatment, so is on hand to offer support and answer any questions across the visit.
Aftercare is comprehensive, with the hospital offering the region’s only 24/7 eye A&E if the patient suffers an after effect which needs urgent attention.
Ajay Kotagiri is the Clinical Director of Ophthalmology at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust.
He said:
"The new building will make such a difference. There will be more space and it will offer top facilities for those who lead in their field.
"The flow for patients will be much better, especially for pre-op because it will all be next to each other on the same floor.
"We’re also looking forward to increasing our capacity, helping more people than we can now.
"Undergoing a cataract operation is relatively small surgery, but the difference it can make is huge. Some people are unable to drive until they have it done and so this gives them back their independence.
"Also, because it develops gradually, patients don’t always realise how their sight has been affected.
"Our CTC already offers our patients wrap around care, so we’re able to look after every aspect of their eyes. That means it’s a much better experience than if they went somewhere which only offers cataract surgery.
"The feedback we receive from patients is excellent. As well as offering specialist skills and having many knowledgeable and experienced colleagues, we also help train staff, so we are helping bring in new staff to help continue our care."
The new hospital is being built by Kier in partnership with Sunderland City Council.
STS Charity, the Trust’s dedicated charity, is running the Vision Appeal. This is to raise funds to make visiting and being treated at the hospital an even better experience.
It will also support staff and bring in additional equipment which goes above and beyond the standard NHS kit.
To find out more about the appeal and to support the call, visit this page: Vision Appeal
