Specialist services
Royles Opticians provide a number of enhanced services, which help our patients to access excellent eye care in a convenient location.
Here in Staffordshire, community optical practices are successfully and safely delivering enhanced services as part of local eye care pathways, which link into the hospital as appropriate.
This means that patients with a range of eye health problems are diagnosed and often treated, by specially trained community optometrists situated in local practices, without the need to travel to hospital.
We have been involved with local eye care pathways for many years and provide the following services:
Most of our optometrists hold a City and Guilds qualification in diabetic eye screening, allowing them to undertake annual digital retinal photography for diabetic patients in Staffordshire.
All of our optometrists are accredited to examine patients with cataract, to advise on referral and to refer them to the hospital of their choice. There is no need for referral to your GP.
All of our optometrists are trained and accredited to perform a 4 week follow up appointment after cataract surgery. This ensures that the eye has healed, vision is clear, and there are no post-operative complications. Should complications arise, or further referral is needed, the hospital will be notified directly and without delay.
Our optometrists are accredited to assess patients at potential risk of developing glaucoma and both hold qualifications in glaucoma diagnosis and management. Patients are referred to them from other Staffordshire optometrists for assessment, as well as providing this service to our own patients. We also monitor patients with stable Ocular Hypertension, who have been discharged to their care by the hospital.
Some of our optometrists are accredited to work with the hospital orthoptists to provide the award winning North Staffordshire Paediatric Shared Care service. Following vision screening by a community orthoptist, children found to have reduced vision in one or both eyes will be referred to an accredited optometrist for examination. This involves using eye drops to help examine the health of the child’s eyes and to assess the need for spectacles. The orthoptist will then review the child in the hospital eye clinic to ensure that the child’s vision is developing correctly. Periodically the child will be referred back to our optometrists for repeat examinations.
Most of our optometrists are accredited to carry out the examination and management of patients with eye problems which have occurred recently. Patients can be referred by their GP for this service, or contact us directly with their concerns. An assessment of the patient’s symptoms will be made to determine the urgency of their appointment. Minor eye conditions can be treated in the practice, or a direct referral to hospital can be made if necessary.