Useful Links and Charities
Local Charities
- Bournemouth Blind Society
- Dorset Diabetic eye screening
- Dorset Blind Society
National Charities
- Fight for Sight https://www.fightforsight.org.uk/ – funds pioneering research to prevent sight loss and treat eye disease in adults and children
- Guide Dogs for the Blind https://www.guidedogs.org.uk/ – promoting the health, equality and independence of blind and partially sighted people
- Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) offers information, support and advice to people with sight loss
- SeeAbility – works to encourage people who are blind or partially sighted and have other multiple disabilities to achieve their full potential and enhance their quality of life
- Blind Veterans UK https://www.blindveterans.org.uk/ – a national charity providing free support and services to all vision-impaired Armed Forces and National Service veterans, no matter when they served or how they lost their sight.
- Thomas Pocklington Trust – offers people who are blind or have sight loss the help, support and care they require to lead an independent life, based on their individual requirements.
Websites relating to Eye Conditions
- Diabetes UK – working for people with diabetes, funding research, campaigning and helping people live with the condition
- International Glaucoma Association (IGA) www.glaucoma.uk– is a UK-based charity for people with glaucoma. They provide information and support to people with glaucoma, provide funding for research related to early diagnosis and treatment, and educate professionals and the public about the condition. For more information about glaucoma and their services, visit their website or call their helpline on 01233 64 81 70.
- The Macular Society – a specialist charity for people affected by any form of macular disease or macular degeneration
- Nystagmus Network – run by individuals and families affected by the eye condition nystagmus
- Retina UK https://retinauk.org.uk/ – supports people affected by inherited progressive sight loss and invests in medical research to ensure that people can live a fulfilling life, now and in the future
- Squint information
- Thyroid eye disease
- Uveitis Information Group – a patient led charity, based in the UK, run by volunteers who suffer from uveitis
Websites relating to children’s Eye Conditions
Resources and information for the visually impaired
- Calibre Audio Library - Offers a free postal library service of unabridged books on memory sticks, MP3s and CDs for anyone with sight problems or physical disabilities which prevent them from reading print
- Guide Dogs for the Blind Association - Official website for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. They also provide a 'CustomEyes Book Service' producing custom-made large print books in font sizes and formats to suit the individual's eye condition
- Living Paintings - A free library of tactile books with audio description, bringing the visual world to life for blind and partially sighted people. They make special tactile versions of pictures that come to life when fingers feel them. Audio descriptions tell the pictures’ stories while directing the fingertips across the tactile image, describing what is being touched, felt and ‘seen’. Tactile story books for children also include clear braille sheets between each page of text so they can read the story's text themselves
- RNIB (Royal National Institute for the Blind) - The UK's leading blind charity offering information, support and advice to those with sight loss.
- RNIB Technology and independent learning - Lots of useful up-to-date information on access software, hardware and tablets
- RNIB Library - RNIB's national library service, offering over 60,000 titles in audio, Braille, giant print, music formats available entirely for free
- http://www.sightlinedirectory.org.uk/ - detailed directory of services and information aimed at helping blind or partially sighted people
Professional Bodies
Royal College of Ophthalmologists: https://www.rcophth.ac.uk
General Optical Council: www.optical.org
Association of Optometrists: https://www.aop.org.uk/
College of Optometrists: https://www.college-optometrists.org/
British and Irish Orthoptic Society: www.orthoptics.org.uk
The Health and Care Professions Council: www.hcpc-uk.org
Vitreo Retinal Services
What this service does
The team in this service treats conditions at the back of the eye which require surgical intervention.
Vitreoretinal surgery refers to any operation to treat eye problems involving the retina, macula, and vitreous fluid. These include retinal detachment, macular hole, epiretinal membrane and complications related to diabetic retinopathy
Consultants who work in this service: Mr A Morris, Mr H Tossounis, Mr S Rowley
How do I make an appointment with this service?
You should see your GP or optician to assess your condition. If he or she decides that your eye condition needs to be investigated by more specialist staff, they will arrange for you to have an outpatient appointment. If you choose to be treated at Bournemouth Ophthalmology Department, we will send you a letter confirming the date, time and location of your appointment with us.
Other useful contacts
For treatment for urgent, sight-threatening problems and for issues that cannot wait for a routine appointment, your GP can refer you to our Eye Emergency department in Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
If you have already been referred to the unit, you can also get information from our secretaries.
Glaucoma
What this service does
Glaucoma is the name given to conditions in which the eye pressure causes optic nerve damage. Glaucoma is treated by lowering the pressure in your eyes. This can be done in several different ways, including eye drops, laser therapy and surgery. Your clinician will discuss with you the best treatment for your form of glaucoma.
Some lower risk patients are monitored in the community on the Shared Eye Care Scheme or by Evolutio community ophthalmology
Consultants who work in this service: Mr C Davison, Mr M Ramchandani
How do I make an appointment with this service?
You should see your GP or optician to assess your condition. If he or she decides that your eye condition needs to be investigated by more specialist staff, they will arrange for you to have an outpatient appointment. If you choose to be treated at Bournemouth Ophthalmology Department, we will send you a letter confirming the date, time and location of your appointment with us.
Other useful contacts
For treatment for urgent, sight-threatening problems and for issues that cannot wait for a routine appointment, your GP can refer you to our Eye Emergency department in Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
If you have already been referred to the unit, you can also get information from our secretaries who work with the glaucoma consultants.
Cornea and Anterior Segment
What this service does
The team in this service treats conditions related to the outside of the eyeball, including the cornea and sclera – the tough outer layer.
Conditions treated by clinicians in this service include keratoconus, corneal ulcers and infections, allergy, meibomian gland dysfunction and dry eyes. Surgeons perform different types of corneal surgery including transplants ( grafts).
Hospital optometrists provide a contact lens fitting service for medical and therapeutic need. This might include when vision cannot be improved with spectacles or for pain relief. The types of lenses we can fit include: RGP (Rigid Gas Permeable), Soft, Cosmetic, Scleral and Hybrid lenses.
Consultants who work in this service: Mr M Rashid, Mr A Turnbull
How do I make an appointment with this service?
You should see your GP or optician to assess your condition. If he or she decides that your eye condition needs to be investigated by more specialist staff, they will arrange for you to have an outpatient appointment. If you choose to be treated at Bournemouth Ophthalmology Department, we will send you a letter confirming the date, time and location of your appointment with us.
Other useful contacts
For treatment for urgent, sight-threatening problems and for issues that cannot wait for a routine appointment, your optician or GP can refer you to our Eye Emergency department in Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
Macular and Medical Retina Services
What this service does
The team in this service treats conditions at the back of the eye, which are treated medically using drugs, eye drops or lasers, and includes diabetic eye screening.
Conditions treated by clinicians in this service include age-related macular degeneration (AMD), retinitis pigmentosa, diabetic retinopathy, retinal blood vessel blockages and inflammation at the back of the eye (uveitis).
Over the past fifteen years there have been huge changes in the way retinal disease and uveitis is treated. We now have a range of injectable drugs which control wet macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease and retinal vein occlusion which can be delivered in an outpatient setting. We have also seen new technologies developed to diagnose and monitor disease activity including OCT retinal scanning, angiography and community based diabetic eye screening. Inflammatory eye disease is now amenable to treatment with immune suppressants also used in rheumatology such as methotrexate and antiTNF drugs. Even when advanced disease causes significant visual loss, the growth of assistive technologies such as digital magnification, e-readers and smart phones can be transformative in terms of rehabilitation. We are lucky to have our Eye Clinic Liaison Officer from the RNIB based within the outpatient reception area to advise, support and signpost patients to community support if needed.
In the future we hope to provide new treatments as they become available, and improve referral pathways to hasten access to diagnosis and treatment. As OCT retinal scanning becomes more widely available it will be possible to move some diagnostic and follow-up services closer to home and longer acting drugs may mean less frequent injection visits.
Consultants who work in this service: Mr O Anderson, Mrs N Matthews, Mr H Tossounis
ECLO: Ms Wendy Wade
How do I make an appointment with this service?
You should see your GP or optician to assess your condition. If he or she decides that your eye condition needs to be investigated by more specialist staff, they will arrange for you to have an outpatient appointment. If you choose to be treated at Bournemouth Ophthalmology Department, we will send you a letter confirming the date, time and location of your appointment with us.
Other useful contacts
For treatment for urgent, sight-threatening problems and for issues that cannot wait for a routine appointment, your GP can refer you to our Eye Emergency department in Royal Bournemouth Hospital.
If you have already been referred to the unit, you can also get information from our secretaries.
