Accessed via phone on 0300 303 4922
Available: Monday to Saturday (9am to 5pm)
The primary aim of this service has been to ensure people can access urgent eyecare within primary care (high street optical practice), utilising the established trained workforce in optical practices. This is essential to reduce demand on GP practices and hospital eye services. The service will provide initial contact, telephone triage, remote consultations/telemedicine and where necessary face to face assessments for patients with eye problems, prescriptions and onward referral if needed.
You can also find a list of accredited optical practices outside these times using the ‘Find a practice’ tool on primary eye care website - www.primaryeyecare.co.uk
When you contacts via the single point of access your call will be initially triaged and then where appropriate a consultation is arranged with a trained optometrists.
Where face to face appointments are required these will be arranged at a local participating optical practice in an appropriate timescale.
Examples of conditions suitable for the service are as follows
- Red Eye
- Sore/painful/light sensitive uncomfortable eye
- Gritty/itchy/dry uncomfortable eye
- Discharge/Sticky eye
- Watery eye - Contact lens stuck in eye
- Foreign body in eye/scratches to the eye
- Lump and bumps in the vicinity of eye
- Flashing lights, floaters, things/objects/patches in vision or sight
- Missing vision - reports of areas of vision missing
- Loss of vision including transient loss
- Sudden onset of blurred/ distorted vision
- Double vision – seeing two or more objects with recent onset where a patient is not unwell.
Your should seek direct attendance to eye casualty if you have
- Severe eye pain –eye pain that patient is unable to tolerate
- Chemical injuries or household chemical (bleach, acid etc) – wash out continually - Sharp Trauma – facial/eye lacerations orglass injuries
- Recent Eye Surgery – symptoms 1 month or less after surgery Contact the treatment Centre.
