Eye care improvements brings specialist services to Forth Valley
Patients across Forth Valley are benefiting from improved access to eye care, with new services now available in localised optometrists.
The General Ophthalmic Services (GOS) Specialist Supplementary Service and the Community Glaucoma Service are now in place, allowing more people in the area to receive specialised eye care closer to home.
As part of a national programme, the new developments are expanding the level of care available within the local community, and come as part of NHS Forth Valley’s Population Health and Care Strategy.
Specially trained optometrists can offer treatment on a number of issues including the cornea, eyelids, iris and the removal of foreign objects from the eye.
Forth Valley patients can be assessed and treated by local optometrists who have undergone specialised training and earned necessary accreditation.
To decrease the need for hospital visits, eye specialists who don’t provide the new service can refer patients to one of 21 participating practices within the Forth Valley area.
With the Community Glaucoma Service being established, people with ocular hypertension or lower-risk glaucoma can also now be given specialist eye care by qualified optometrists.
Following localised treatment, patients can be discharged and return to their day to day lives, creating a more streamlined return to the community.
Patients who have been identified as suitable candidates will be contacted directly and given further details of how to sign up, but remain free to continue using an optometrist for routine NHS eye tests.
Information on which local opticians provide the new care options is available through the NHS Inform website or by visiting eye care pages on the NHS Forth Valley website.