A 'DEDICATED' eye doctor has won a top national award due to the 'incredible difference' he has made to his patients' lives.

Professor Robert MacLaren from Oxford Eye Hospital was one of the winners at this year’s Macular Society Awards for Excellence.

He was rewarded in the Clinical Service of the Year category in recognition of his 'exceptionally good practice' in caring for people with macular disease, which is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK.

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The award also highlighted Professor MacLaren’s innovative gene therapy work and his use of robotic surgery to help those affected by retinal diseases.

He said: “I am delighted to have received this prestigious award from the Macular Society, which represents patients with sight loss from macular degeneration.

"In Oxford we always endeavour to deliver the highest quality of clinical care for patients with retinal diseases, both with standard care and innovative new technologies."

He added: "It is therefore a great honour for me to accept this prize and I do so on behalf of the wonderful NHS team that runs our clinical service.”

Professor MacLaren received his award from Macular Society chairman John Dunston at the charity’s national annual conference, which took place at the Royal Leonardo London Tower Bridge Hotel last month.

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Running for an 11th year in 2019, the excellence awards are used by the charity to celebrate the work done to provide services and care for people with macular disease across the UK.

Professor MacLaren is a practising consultant ophthalmologist at the Oxford Eye Hospital.

He specialised first in Oxford and then moved to Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, where he was a consultant surgeon and led research into age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

He returned to Oxford as Professor of Ophthalmology in 2009 and currently leads a research team in the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology.

Cathy Yelf, chief executive of the Macular Society, said: “The commitment and dedication shown by Professor MacLaren is clear to see from the tremendous feedback we’ve received about his work.

“He really has made an incredible difference to the lives of people with macular disease and we’re delighted his efforts have been recognised with this richly-deserved award.”

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Clinical Service of the Year was one of four honours handed out by the charity as part of the awards.

There were also prizes for Optician or Optometrist of the Year; Rising Star of the Year, and a Chairman’s Award for Volunteering.

Nearly 1.5 million people are currently affected by Macular disease, which can have a devastating effect on people’s lives, leaving them unable to drive, read or see faces.

Many people affected describe losing their sight as being similar to bereavement. There is still no cure and most types of the disease are not treatable.

AMD is the most common form of macular disease, affecting more than 600,000 people, usually over the age of 50.

For more information visit macularsociety.org.