Accessing Ophthalmology Services
To access our services, patients must be referred in by a GP, Optician or Other Medical professional.
If you are a patient and have a general enquiry or appointment/booking query please contact the Booking and Scheduling Team on 01743 261044 (8.00am-8.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am-12.00pm Saturday) or email us at sath.patientappointmentenquiries@nhs.net.
If you are an Optician or other medical professional, these pages will provide you with the available referral routes:
For all non urgent/emergency referrals please write to the patient’s General Practitioner asking for them to refer patients via the Electronic Referral Service (for Welsh patients please refer to your locally agreed pathway). This ensures that the patient is provided with a choice of where they receive their care. The Standard Referral Pathway should be used for all routine referrals and for those that are of an urgent nature that do not require the Urgent Eye Clinic. The standard referral pathway should be used for all general and subspecialism referrals, as well as referrals into the orthoptic service.
The Urgent Eye Clinic is not a patient “drop in service” and patients will only be seen following a telephone triage referral.
The triage service for the Urgent Eye Clinic provides a means for Optometrists and other health professionals to discuss with hospital clinical staff to help determine the appropriate course of action for patients. These actions can vary from advice, through to an emergency appointment with the Urgent Eye Clinic at The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. The clinician at SaTH will determine the appropriate pathway for the patient and will arrange for an appointment within the Urgent Eye Clinic if needed. If they deem the referral to be non urgent but does need a hospital eye service appointment, they will advise that a routine referral is made (see Standard Referral Pathway). If the condition is suspect WET AMD please follow the Fast-Track WET AMD pathway.
The telephone triage service is provided Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 9am-12noon and Sunday 10am-12noon (Closed Bank Holidays).
If your call is outside of these hours and you believe the patient needs emergency care please ask for the oncall Ophthalmology doctor via the hospital switchboard on 01743 261 000.
For patients that are discharged from SaTH following first eye cataract surgery for follow up and assessment in your care via the Post-Operative Cataract Pathway we would welcome the opportunity to carry out surgery on their 2nd eye where the criteria is met.
You must complete the Post-Operative Cataract Form and return it via one of two ways emailed to sath.ophthalmologytechnicians@nhs.net or post to Ophthalmology Technicians, Eye Department, Royal Shrewsbury Hospital (please do not send via both methods for the same patient as this may result in two appointments).
From the 1st January 2020 SaTH will no longer be commissioned to provide Diabetic Eye Screening.
If you are registered with an English GP, the NHS Diabetic Eye Screening Programme for Staffordshire and Shropshire will be provided by Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. For more information visit the Midlands Partnership Website. For enquiries please call 01785 783283.
If you are registered with a Welsh GP, your Diabetic Eye Screening will be provided by Diabetic Eye Screening Wales. For more information visit the Eye Care Wales website or telephone 01443 844244.
Referrals to the Orthoptists should follow the Standard Referral Pathway.
For a list of Orthoptists staff and the services they provide please visit the Orthoptists page.
The Contact Lens Department is based at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital in the Copthorne building, we are part of the Optometry team.
Meet the Team
Katherine Williams – Head of Optometry
Caroline Rogers – Contact Lens Optician
Rebecca Adams – Contact Lens Assistant Higher Level
Georgina Chambers – Contact Lens Assistant Higher Level
About Us
The contact lens clinic provides prescribing, fitting and aftercare services for patients who need contact lenses for a health problem. You can be referred to the contact lens clinic by your community optometrist or eye specialist within SaTH. Patients who will find this service useful are:
- People with irregular or scarred corneas such as Keratoconus, corneal grafts, injury or infections.
- People with complex prescriptions. This could be high shortsightedness above –15Ds or high long-sightedness above +10Ds. They could also have a large difference in prescription between their two eyes.
- People who need therapeutic lenses for pain relief.
- People who need cosmetic lenses for iris or pupil problems.
- People who need occlusive contact lenses for double vision.
- Children who require occlusive contact lenses for lazy eye treatment (amblyopia).
Attending your contact lens appointment
Your appointment will involve several tests and may involve the use of eye drops which can make your vision blurry. If eye drops are used, we strongly advise that you do not drive for several hours afterwards. Although not essential, it is advisable that someone brings you to the appointment. The tests vary in duration, so please allow sufficient time for your visit.
- Please wear your contact lenses to the appointment if you already have them, unless told not to.
- Please bring your current contact lens solutions, eyedrops and glasses with you.
- Please bring your most recent spectacle prescription from your community optician which has been carried out within the last two years.
- Please bring a list of any medications you take.
Contact lens costs and ordering
If you have an appointment to collect your lenses, we will give you a form. Take this to the Cashiers office to make your payment. Or you can call the Cashiers Office, Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4:30pm on 01743 261000 extension 3151. You will need to give your full name, hospital number and the amount to pay. If you have ordered new lenses we will be contact, you for payment when they are ready to collect. You will need to pay before you collect them. If we try to contact you for payment and are unsuccessful after several attempts, we will return the lenses to the supplier.
A standard charge is made for each contact lens supplied by the hospital (different charges may apply for soft, disposable lenses). This charge is set nationally as per the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk) and is reviewed annually. Patients in the following categories are exempt from contact lens charges:
- Under 16 years old
- 16, 17 or 18 years old and in full-time education
- Are a prisoner and on leave from prison
- Receiving income support
- Receiving income-related employment and support allowance
- Receiving income-based job seekers allowance
- Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
- Universal Credit
- Named on a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate
- A valid NHS certificate for full help with health costs (HC2)
- Require a plano powered bandage contact lens
- Require a tinted, painted or prosthetic contact lens.
If you are in receipt of an eligible benefit, you will be required to show proof of your exemption. Please note that patients who are exempt from charges, are still required to pay for replacement lenses if your contact lenses are lost or broken. Payment is also required if you wish to have a ‘spare’ contact lens. A voucher for a replacement lens is only usually provided at the end of the contact lens life or when a significant change in prescription and/or fit occurs.
Replacement lenses are only ordered on receipt of full payment. Delivery time of a new lens can be up to 4 weeks, depending on the complexity and manufacturer of the lens.
Contact Details
If you are not able to attend your appointment, phone 01743 26100 extension 2492 to arrange another appointment. If you need to order more contact lenses, phone 01743 26100 extension 2492. If leaving a voicemail please leave your name and number so a member of the team can call you back.
Emergencies
In the case of an emergency such as pain, redness, sudden loss of vision, watering or stickiness (discharge), call the Urgent Eye Clinic on 01743 261 000 extension 1476. Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm, Saturdays 9.00am to midday, Sundays 10.00am to midday.
Out of hours phone:
- Princess Royal Emergency Department on 01952 641222 extension 4230 or 4227
- Royal Shrewsbury Emergency Department on 01743 261000 extension 1138 or 3303.