Mr Richard Haynes

Mr Richard Haynes is a highly experienced Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon based at Royal Cornwall Hospital Truro. He specialises in cataract surgery and vitreoretinal surgery.

Mr Haynes treats a wide range of conditions, including cataracts, epiretinal membranes, macular holes, vitreous floaters & vitreous haemorrhage. He also specialises in repairing retinal detachment, treating proliferative diabetic retinopathy & complications arising from cataract surgery, macular degeneration & retinal vascular diseases such as retinal vein occlusion.  He is experienced in managing complex cataract patients with additional risk factors such as high myopia or eye trauma requiring iris reconstruction or secondary lens implantation.

Mr Haynes trained in Ophthalmic Surgery at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Queen's Medical Centre Nottingham, and Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, where he completed his fellowship in Vitreoretinal Surgery and was the Keeler Scholar awarded by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. He was appointed Consultant at Bristol Eye Hospital in 2001 and has since contributed significantly to clinical service, research, and surgical training.

He is a dedicated educator and mentor, having personally trained over 40 Vitreoretinal Fellows, many of whom are now practising internationally. He founded the UK’s first Vitreoretinal Surgical Simulation Course, now delivered in partnership with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and the British Association of Vitreoretinal Surgeons (BEAVRS). Mr Haynes has served as Royal College Tutor, Regional Advisor, and Clinical Director at Bristol Eye Hospital (2016–2019). In 2018, he was elected Lead for Professional Standards at BEAVRS and received a National Clinical Excellence Award in the same year.

An active researcher, Mr Haynes has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers and has won the Oxford Ophthalmic Congress Founders Cup for research twice. Recently he was the Chief Investigator of an international multi-centre randomised controlled trial investigating genetic predisposition to infection and the Principal Investigator of a multicentre trial of gene therapy for macular degeneration.

Mr Haynes is a Fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and a member of several professional bodies including the British & Eire Association of Vitreoretinal Surgeons, the British Medical Association, Oxford Ophthalmological Congress, South West Ophthalmological Society, and the European Society of Retinal Specialists.