Eye surgery under general anaesthesia is now available at Yeovil Hospital for the 'first time in a generation.'

Patients at Yeovil Hospital, over the decades, have been unable to have such a procedure at their local hospital.

This has changed with the opening of a new state-of-the-art day theatre at the hospital.

Paritosh Shah, a vitreoretinal surgeon, performed the inaugural operation with general anaesthesia in early summer.

Before, patients requiring general anaesthesia for eye surgery had to travel to Yeatman Hospital in Dorset for their treatment.

The transition to Yeovil Hospital has been made possible through a combined effort of multiple teams within the hospital.

Dr Sanjay Arampatta, lead ophthalmology anaesthetist at Yeovil Hospital, said: "For many years the ophthalmology unit was located at the Yeatman Hospital, just across the border in Dorset, where we performed eye surgery for East Somerset patients.

"We did front and back of the eye operations there, under local anaesthesia only, as that hospital didn’t have the facilities to provide general anaesthesia.

"But with the opening of our new day theatre at Yeovil Hospital last year, our ophthalmology team got together and decided to look at whether we could relocate all these procedures to Yeovil instead.

"This was feasible, and our ophthalmology surgical unit found a new home.

"We have state-of-the-art facilities at the new day theatre, and following a great deal of coordination with various teams, we’ve been able to offer general anaesthesia for both front and back of eye surgery, in suitable patients."

Paritosh Shah, a consultant ophthalmologist at Yeovil Hospital, said: "For years, we have strived to provide the option of having surgery under general anaesthesia for patients who struggle with local anaesthesia during eye procedures.

"I am thrilled that, thanks to the incredible support of the Yeovil anaesthesia team, we can now offer general anaesthesia for eye surgery."

Currently, the hospital is performing surgical procedures every three to four weeks on selected patients.

However, the frequency could increase over time to cater to more patients.

Mr Shah added: "Setting up a new service takes significant effort, and I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone involved.

"From doctors and nurses to managers, the eye theatre booking team, and everyone who stepped up – thank you for making this possible.

"This is truly a landmark achievement for our ophthalmology service at Yeovil."