These referral guidelines are intended to help and support community eye services and to allow our eye department to plan, direct, and optimise the patient referral pathway and allow appropriate and timely management as needed.

Referral Forms

Urgent eye emergency referral form [docx] 17KB

Adult chalazion referral form [docx] 43KB

Opening hours

9am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays)

Appointments must be booked to help manage capacity and ensure urgent problems are given priority. We do not accept walk-in attendees.

If a patient needs a same day review or you would like ophthalmic advice and in hours, please telephone the Eye Clinic on 01708 435 000, extension 6662 and complete the urgent eye emergency referral form [docx] 17KB. Please email it to bhrut.urgenteyecare@nhs.net.

Before referring, it is helpful if you could provide our nurses and doctors with the following patient information:

• Demographics and contact details
• Present concern or issue
• Patient’s past ophthalmic, family history and relevant medical history

Our department contains facilities to perform OCT, photography, visual field testing and full ocular motility testing.

Out of hours: non-urgent treatment

If a patient is seen by you out of hours and the problem can wait until the next day (or Monday morning if it is the weekend) then please fill in the Urgent eye emergency referral form [docx] 17KB and email it to bhrut.urgenteyecare@nhs.net and include the patients full contact details. This inbox is monitored during working hours and we will call the patient to arrange a follow up appointment at their convenience.

Out of hours: urgent treatment

If the problem is a sight-threatening one (for example):

• acute angle closure suspect
• penetrating eye injury
• severe chemical injury

Please telephone Moorfields Eye Hospital switchboard on 020 7253 3411 and ask to speak to Emergency Department staff. Alternatively, telephone Moorfields direct: 020 7521 4682.

Please do not send patients without prior discussion as they may not be accepted. Alternatively, telephone Whipps Cross Hospital on 020 8539 5522 and ask to speak to the oncall ophthalmologist for advice. Most eye problems can wait until the next day for review at Queen’s Eye Casualty Clinic.