General Ophthalmology

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About your Appointment

Maintaining good vision and healthy eyes is very important. This can be achieved by having regular eye examinations. Our specially trained ophthalmologists will thoroughly examine your eyes to detect any changes and early signs of eye disease such as glaucoma, macular degeneration or diabetic retinopathy and will provide and discuss with you the best care and treatment options.

Do I need a referral letter?

Yes you will. You can obtain this from your GP or local Optometrist. Then it is as simple as calling us over the phone to book an appointment with one of our ophthalmologists.

What tests will be performed?

At your appointment our ophthalmologist and our university trained orthoptist will perform a thorough general assessment. This includes:

Gathering information about your past and present eye conditions and family eye history
Testing your vision and assessing you for corrective lenses
Glaucoma screening
Dilated fundus examination to examine your optic nerve and retina for signs of macular degeneration, glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy if you have diabetes.

Why is my eye history and family eye history important?

It is important for the ophthalmologist to know your eye history such as past conditions, treatments and managements and whether they’ve helped or not. This provides the ophthalmologist with a better understanding of your eyes enabling him/her to manage your problem or symptoms more appropriately.

Some eye conditions, such as glaucoma, can be inherited. Diabetic retinopathy or macular degeneration may also be inherited depending on whether there is a strong family history. Where there is a family history of such eye diseases, it is important to have your eyes examined to ensure you are not at risk of developing the same eye disease, as the chances are a lot higher than someone with no family history of eye diseases.

Will my vision be measured and can I be tested for glasses?

Yes, your vision will be measured, this is routine to do so. Our orthoptist will test your vision to measure how well you see at various distances, and determine whether you have ‘perfect’ vision, or whether you are shortsighted, longsighted or have an astigmatism. If you are found to have less than perfect vision and require glasses to enhance your vision, our orthoptist will thoroughly test you for corrective lenses and our ophthalomologist can provide you with a glasses prescription.