Download Community Eye Services In Bedfordshire

COMMUNITY EYE SERVICES IN BEDFORDSHIRE
What do Orthoptists do?
Orthoptists are allied health professionals who:
 screen and assess patients for vision problems including
children and adults with special needs or a family history of eye
problems in childhood
 Diagnose and manage disorders of binocular function including
strabismus (squint), maxillo-facial injuries, stroke and
neurological conditions.
 assess and treat ocular movement problems that cause
diplopia (double vision)
 amblyopia
 Reading difficulties due to poor focusing and eye control.
Paediatric clinics are also held at Moorfields at Bedford Hospital and
the Luton and Dunstable Hospital. Any referrals for these clinics
should be sent directly to them. The children attending the Orthoptic
Clinic at these hospitals have other ocular pathology or other health
conditions that affect their eyes.
Adult clinics are held at:
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Moorfields at Bedford Hospital
Luton and Dunstable Hospital
Adults with learning difficulties are seen at:
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Twinwoods Resource Centre, Bedford
Beech Close, Dunstable
The Orthoptist deals with patients of all ages but has a particular
interest and expertise in the very young, the elderly and children/adults
with special needs, as these have a higher incidence of ocular
pathology.
The referrals for adult patients should be sent directly to the clinic you
wish them to be seen.
The community Orthoptists works very closely with the community and
hospital Ophthalmologists.
Treatment techniques available to the Orthoptist include:
Orthoptic Treatment
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Paediatric clinics are held at:
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Enhanced Service Centre, Bedford
Biggleswade Health Centre
Flitwick Clinic
Shefford Health Centre
Liverpool Road Health Centre, Luton
Wigmore Health Centre, Luton
Child Development Centre, (Bedford)
Edwin Lobo Centre (Luton)
We would suggest that all paediatric Orthoptic referrals are sent to
Enhanced Service Centre, Bedford or Liverpool Road Health Centre,
Luton depending on where the child lives, they can be coded by
urgency and seen in their most local clinic.
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Use of occlusion to reduce the visual input into one eye, either in
the form of an eye patch, Cycloplegic drug, lenses or a combination
of these, in order to improve visual acuity.
Use of prisms to control double vision or correct strabismus.
Use of lenses to alter the angle of strabismus, by changing the
amount of focusing power needed.
Use of exercises, both in the clinic and at home, to improve
focusing and eye co-ordination (fusion).
It is important that children with problems related to vision and ocular
motility defects are seen by the Orthoptists while they are young. The
visual pathway becomes mature around the age of seven to eight
years and then, any amblyopia they have is unlikely to respond to
treatment.
Vision Screening
Orthoptists are recognised as the experts in childhood vision screening
and all children aged 4-5 years in Bedfordshire and Luton are offered
vision screening either by an Orthoptist or Orthoptic trained support
workers in schools, in line with the recommendations of The 2008
Child Health Promotion Programme (DOH).
Vision screening by this age is important as the vision in one eye can
be defective with no visible signs.
The Impact of Orthoptics
Quality of vision is an important factor in leading a full and useful life at
all ages. It is crucial to infant development, to a child’s education, to
employment prospects, to the pursuit of leisure activities and to the
enjoyment of retirement. An ocular disability, perhaps initially slight,
can become a major visual handicap if not promptly identified and
treated.
Community Eye
Services In
Bedfordshire