The Eye Outpatients department hold a wide variety of clinics where the Ophthalmologists & Ophthalmic Practitioners see patients within an outpatients setting and these patients have diagnostic tests completed on the day where possible to enable the Ophthalmologists & Nurse Practitioners to make decisions about the patient’s care on the day.
We hold many clinics and the ophthalmologists & Nurse Practitioners may need to diagnose and treat patients and in order to do this they rely on the many tests which our technicians & Nursing Teams carry out carry out these are:-
- OCT – Optical Coherence Tomography A SPECTRALIS® OCT examination provides information about the condition of the retinal layers. The examination can help identify early signs of disease in the retina and on the optic nerve head.
- HVF which is a Humphrey visual field test. The Humphrey visual field test measures the entire area of peripheral vision that can be seen while the eye is focused on a central point. ... The Humphrey visual field test can also be used to detect conditions within the optic nerve of the eye, and certain neurological conditions as well.
- Anterion ANTERION® utilizes the power of high-resolution swept-source OCT images to provide the most important anterior segment examinations and measurements in one modular, upgradeable platform.
- Optos Image - Getting an optomap image is fast, painless, and comfortable. Nothing touches your eye at any time. It is suitable for the whole family. To have the exam, you simply look into the device one eye at a time (like looking through a keyhole) and you will see a flash of light to let you know the image of your retina has been taken.Under normal circumstances, dilation drops might not be necessary, but your eye care practitioner will decide if your pupils need to be dilated depending on the health of your eyes. The image capture takes less than a half-second and they are available immediately for you to see your own retina. You see exactly what your eye care practitioner sees - even in a 3D animation.
The single workflow-efficient solution brings together corneal topography and tomography, anterior segment metrics, axial length measurement and IOL calculation to transform the day-to-day routine of busy practices and clinics.
Ours specialities within Ophthalmology are:
- Glaucoma
- Medical Retinal
- Corneal
- Diabetic Screening
- Paediatric Ophthalmology
- Cataract
- Nurse Led Intravitreal Injections
- Nurse Led Fundus Fluorescein Angiograms
Once you arrive at reception you will be booked in by the reception team who will check that your details are correct. From this point your investigations will start with a visit into one of our vision lanes with one of our team members, where you will have a sight test (which is repeated on every appointment) to monitor for changes in your vision. If you wear glasses for distance you will need these for this test.
If you are on the doctors list they may require you to have your eyes dilated, If required you will not be able to drive after the appointment as your insurance is void, therefore you may need to arrange to be collected.
If possible, please come to the department alone as space is limited. If you have someone driving you, they can wait in the hospital main entrance reception area or at the Aroma cafe. Following your visions you may be required to have an eye pressure check this will be carried out in the vision lane with a handheld device and takes about a minute.
Following the vision test, if the doctor/ Ophthalmology Practitioner requests that you need any diagnostic testing, OCT or Visual Field, Anterion or Optos, these will be carried out prior to seeing them and they will review them online on our ophthalmology system.
Each time you visit is measured by the specialist systems to identify changes in your vision to the doctor/practitioner.
Rochdale Infirmary - Level C
Patients are referred into Ophthalmology through GP & Optometrists when they wish them to have reviews on current conditions. The referrals are sent electronically and are triaged by Doctors /Practitioners to the correct speciality.
Once the speciality is established they are added to the waiting list with the time scale according to the urgency of the condition for an appointment within this speciality.
All appointments are appointed by the booking and scheduling department and any queries should answered by ringing 0161 778 2233.
Eye Clinic Liaison Officer (ECLO)
Here to offer practical and emotional support to people living with a sight condition and their family and carers.
Suzie Bunn
09784 701408
Monday to Friday 9am -5pm
Orthoptists
Orthoptists investigate, diagnose and manage disorders of binocular vision and abnormalities of eye movement including examining patients with eye problems especially those related to ocular motility, binocular vision, amblyopia (lazy eye) or squint. Orthoptists diagnose these problems and determine appropriate management.
The children’s service is based in Oldham community clinics and is an open referral system. It deals with childhood visual development (which may include the provision of glasses or occlusion therapy), childhood squint – whether this is the cosmetic appearance of the squint or possible symptoms due to poor control of the deviation. Children are also referred from pediatricians and the Child Development Service as part of their general developmental reviews or to screen for specific features of syndromes. We also have an extended role service to review children (and some teenagers) with Specific Literacy Difficulties.
A vision screening service is provided for all children in Oldham.
The Pediatric Optometrist examines the child’s eyes to detect any ocular disease or abnormality and prescribes spectacles for those who need them.
The Adult service mainly receives referrals from GPs – however in urgent situations referrals may come from other consultants, A&E or through Eye Casualty. It deals with patients with double vision and other eye symptoms for which there is an ocular motility cause – our role is to diagnose the defect, work with the Ophthalmology team to determine the cause (which may involve further investigations or other specialties) and then work with the patient towards alleviation of symptoms. Treatments may include the use of prisms, exercises/ therapy within our clinics or looking towards surgical options from ophthalmology.
The stroke service based on the stroke rehabilitation wards at FGH provides a full Orthoptic assessment at the bedside for all the patients within our remit. Treatment and advice is given to all patients where needed. Patients are reviewed on the ward and treatment modified as appropriate. We also work as an integral member of the multidisciplinary team to aid patient rehabilitation.
As an extended role orthoptists are also involved in the management of glaucoma within Ophthalmology where we review patients whose condition is stable and thus allow for more effective use of the Ophthalmologist’s time in clinic.
Department telephone number is 0161 621 3489
Low Visual Aid
Contact details 01706 901621 or via email Debbi.Cooper@pat.nhs.net
This service is led by an Orthoptist to provide a high level of care to patients who are living with reduced levels of vision as a result of an eye condition. Low vision (visual impairment) is when your sight cannot be corrected with glasses or contact lenses, or by any medical or surgical treatment. The most common cause of low vision is age related macular degeneration.
Magnifiers can be issued to help with reading, distance, television, writing, craft activities and glare following an assessment. Advice and support will be offered as well as signposting to various other agencies to enhance daily living skills and mobility.
Referrals are made through the Ophthalmology clinic.
Since August 2020 (post Covid 19) the Low Vision Aid Clinic now runs on Mondays and Tuesdays at Rochdale Infirmary.
Hydroxychloroquine Retinopathy Screening
The aim of the screening is not to prevent retinopathy but to detect the earliest definitive signs of the condition, before a patient notices any symptoms.
The risk of getting hydroxychloroquine retinopathy is low unless you have been taking the drug for at least five years, so you will only be invited into the annual screening programme after this time unless there are exceptional circumstances.
The Screening Test
Baseline assessment: Within one year of starting hydroxychloroquine, you may be invited to a baseline screening appointment. The purpose of this assessment is not to detect toxicity from hydroxychloroquine, but instead to ensure there are no other problems that will make screening for toxicity difficult in the future.
At this baseline screening appointment you will have two tests.
The first is a colour photograph that provides a cross-sectional image of the various layers of your retina. This is called an optical coherence tomography (OCT scan).
During these tests you will be seated in front of a large, camera-like machine with a chin rest. You may have several photographs and scans taken.
To ensure a good images obtained are of your retina.
Before the tests you will be given eye drops that temporarily widen (dilate) your pupils. This is to allow more light into the eye to give a better view of your retina.
The drops will make your vision blurry for a few hours or longer in some people. You may also be more sensitive to light.