News
June 7th Glos NHSFT Eye Triage Hours Changed
June 2020
The hours for the Eye Casualty Triage Line have been changed.
Now available 8am – 6pm (closed 1pm-2pm) Monday-Saturday
Tel: 0300 422 3578
Outside of these hours contact CGH Switchboard 0300 422 2222 and ask for on-call Ophthalmologist.
COVID-19 April 18th Update
April 2020
The Updated OFNC Statement and Guidance on changes to primary eye care in England, is available here
COVID-19 April 2nd Update
April 2020
The OFNC guidance on changes to primary eye care in England, can be downloaded here.
COVID-19 March 30th Update
March 2020
A WhatsApp group has been set up for the support of colleagues who are actively carrying out phone/video call triage and emergency/essential care of our patients during the Covid-19 crisis. It is open to optometrists/contact lens opticians/dispensing opticians/practice managers etc. This will allow for quick opinions/advice from colleagues and effective signposting for any colleagues that may not be in a position to carry out the required care for a patient their specific situation requires.
If you wish to join, please e-mail ankur.trivedi@primaryeyecare.co.uk with the mobile number you use for WhatsApp and you will be added.
COVID-19 March 24th Update
March 2020
You will be aware of the immediate closure of all shops and the government advice to stay at home. Whilst these restrictions are in place, there will still be small numbers of patients requiring urgent care.
Please let us know immediately if you plan to maintain provision of urgent care so patients can be signposted to their closest optical practice.
Please reply to ankur.trivedi@primaryeyecare.co.uk
Also;
If you are closing then you need to log the closure with covid@primaryeyecare.co.uk.
Please see the info at HTTP://primaryeyecare.co.uk/covid-19-guidance.html
Wet AMD Fax Referral Now Re-available.
November 2019
The recent problem with the wet AMD referral fax pathway has been addressed so that faxed referrals can again be sent.
It is preferable for all practices who have NHS.net accounts to use email referral and send secure referrals to : ghn-tr.AMDteam@nhs.net
This situation has highlighted the importance of optical practices having NHS.net addresses. ALL NHS FAX MACHINES WILL BE SWITCHED OFF BY 31st MARCH 2020.
The LOC strongly encourages all practices to ensure they will be able to offer their patients timely access to hospital care by using NHS.net. Please take action now before all fax machines are decommissioned.
Change to Rapid Access wAMD Service
October 2019
We have been advised by the wAMD booking team that they are receiving a large volume of referrals and therefore it has become difficult to call all patients within 48 hours to arrange an appointment.
From now on, patients will be sent an appointment letter via first class post, unless short notice appointments become available and thus a phone call is more appropriate. Therefore, we recommend that patients are advised that they will receive a letter within 5 working days of referral, if not they should contact the referring Optometrist for further advice. In these circumstances contact the ARMD Co-ordinator on 0300 4228533 to confirm the referral has been received.
The AMD team have confirmed that the two week wait for the appointment is still applicable, depending on demand and availability of clinics.
The Rapid Access Referral form is currently being updated to reflect this by the wAMD team and we will make it available via email and the LOC website in due course.
Gloucestershire Sight Loss Council
October 2019
A new publicity leaflet issued by Gloucestershire Sight Loss Council can be downloaded from our ‘Low Vision’ page, where you will also find the link to the website for Sight Loss Councils.