Energising outpatients: An international view

Dr Nneka Offor Brooks was born in Nigeria but spent her formative years in New Jersey, USA, obtaining her undergraduate degree from Princeton University. She was awarded her medical degree from Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City and there discovered a love for ophthalmology. Dr Brooks completed her residency training at Rutgers – New Jersey Medical School. During her residency, she received the prestigious Alfonse A. Cinotti Resident Award for her excellence in academic and professional achievements during training. Dr Brooks then went on to complete a two-year vitreoretinal fellowship at the Lahey Clinic and Hospital in Massachusetts. Following her training, she has practiced in the private sector both in New York City and New Jersey. She is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and a member of the American Society of Retina Specialists Dr Brooks is passionate about teaching and mentoring. She has been an avid teacher of medical students and residents throughout her career. In addition, Dr Brooks is a founding member of the Dr David K. McDonogh Scholarship, a program dedicated to supporting medical students from minority backgrounds in their pursuit of training in the fields of Ophthalmology and ENT. Dr Brooks has been involved with numerous multi-center clinical trials studying macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, and uveitis. She has published and presented at national meetings on various topics in ophthalmology, including retinoblastoma, side effects of anti-VegF medications and neovascular glaucoma.

Dr Thomas Desmettre, is the main Retina Specialist in the North of France with a clinical activity progressively developed since 1998. Since May 2013 this activity takes place in his owned facility in Marquette-Lez-Lille. The equipment (OCT, Angiographs, Lasers) and the Intravitreal Injection (IVI) dedicated room allow to diagnose and treat patients who are all referred by other ophthalmologists from the region. This clinical activity is fuelled by regular lectures in the North of France and in the rest of the country and by an editorship activity with the non-peer reviewed Journal “Réalités Ophtalmologiques“ which is the most read ophthalmology journal in France. The clinical activity in the North of France is also sustained by an activity in the Paris hospital Lariboisière. In this public hospital Dr Desmettre has a weekly clinic and participates to clinical research with other clinicians. Dr Desmettre has been a member of the Council of the Ophthalmology section of the RSM since 2019.

Peter is the Chief Clinical Information Officer and Director of Digital Medicine at Moorfields Eye Hospital. Clinically, he specialises in paediatric ophthalmology and strabismus surgery. He has been involved in digital health for many years, and his main interest is in driving the digital transformation of eyecare in the UK. His work supports the creation of new models of care, for example the recent deployment of video consultations and home monitoring at Moorfields, that are more convenient and more available for patients. He has recently founded and leads the Department of Digital Medicine at Moorfields, the first department of its kind in the UK. He sits on a number of national committees and boards to drive this process agenda across all of ophthalmology and in the NHS more generally. His current research interests include the assessment of environmental impact of healthcare, and the creation and implementation of clinically helpful artificial intelligence solutions.