Primary Eyecare Services provides several NHS-funded community glaucoma services through a network of opticians (also known as optometrists) across England. This page relates to the service in Hampshire for former patients of Southampton University Hospital.
To deliver it, we work in close collaboration with opticians who have the right equipment to monitor glaucoma and related conditions. All the optometrists providing community glaucoma monitoring are registered professionals who have undergone all the appropriate training.
Once all the necessary eye examinations have been completed, the results are sent to our in-house specialist glaucoma clinicians for review, along with the patient information held on file by University Hospital Southampton. As soon as reviews are completed, we advise patients of their results and provide care and treatment recommendations.
Anna Bhan is a Consultant Glaucoma surgeon with over 25 years’ experience in the specialty. She has held senior roles in teaching and clinical leadership and is an honorary consultant at Imperial College, London. Anna has published extensive research and been invited to speak at a number of national and international medical conferences. She is an examiner for the College of Optometrists and a Clinical Advisor for Primary Eyecare Services.
Jane has worked in the field of glaucoma for over 20 years in hospital and community ophthalmology services. One of the first Independent Prescribing optometrists in England, she gained her diploma in 2010 and, in 2016, gained the highest specialist glaucoma qualification in England. Jane was part of the expert panel that produced the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance on the diagnosis and management of glaucoma in 2017.
Tom previously ran his own high street opticians and today works as the Glaucoma Lead at Primary Eyecare Services where he provides oversight and governance across a variety of extended services. He is also a specialist glaucoma optometrist at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the NHS England eye health network chair for Lancashire and South Cumbria, providing systemic level clinical guidance. Tom has post-graduate qualifications in leadership, glaucoma and independent prescribing.
Only patients with a GP in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight NHS area who have previously been assessed at University Hospital Southampton and diagnosed with specific low-risk glaucoma conditions can be discharged from hospital care into this community glaucoma service.
At your next appointment, ask the clinician if you would be suitable for community monitoring. Please be aware that some patients are better served in a hospital setting.
No – not if University Hospital Southampton have already discharged you from their care. Hospital services are very busy and are not always the best place for low-risk cases. The hospital is very familiar with our community glaucoma service and will ever only discharge patients into our care who are suitable. If we go on to find anything that requires hospital investigation, we will always refer a patient back to the hospital.
Yes. The opticians involved in this service have met specific equipment requirements and undergo regular checks to ensure that all the necessary standards are met.
This depends because the community glaucoma service is separate from routine sight testing. We would absolutely encourage all patients to continue to attend their preferred optician for their regular sight tests.
However, glaucoma monitoring appointments are different – although there may be opticians with the equipment and expertise to provide this option on a private basis, we are the only NHS-commissioned community service for Hampshire and Isle of Wight patients who have previously been under the care of University Hospital Southampton.
We can discharge patients when appropriate, but please talk to one of our clinicians first (use the contact form below). People with early or low-risk glaucoma-related conditions rarely have any symptoms, but there can still be a risk to your eyesight in the longer term. We wouldn’t keep monitoring your condition if we didn’t think it was necessary.
Please call the contact number provided on our welcome letter to speak to the administrative team. Otherwise, please complete the contact form below and we will respond very soon. If you need to speak to a clinician, we will arrange a phone call for you.
For questions about your appointment arrangements, please contact your allocated opticians directly. They should know about local parking, disabled access, and other local facilities.
Patients registered with the Hampshire and Isle of Wight community glaucoma service can contact our dedicated glaucoma administrator using the phone number printed at the top of our community monitoring services welcome letter.
Alternatively, please complete the contact form below and we will respond as soon as possible:
Glaucoma UK is a charity dedicated to supporting people with glaucoma and their loved ones. We support their commitment to empowering those affected by glaucoma by ensuring they have a voice in shaping their care and treatment.
Click here to go to Glaucoma UK’s website to learn more about glaucoma and the many ways the charity can support you.
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Service provided by Primary Eyecare Services Waulk Mill (2.2), 51 Bengal Street, Manchester M4 6LN
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