New Specialist Eye Clinic

Princess Alexandra Hospital has recently upgraded its eye casualty service for walk-in patients, underlining its commitment to emergency eye care.

The new eye casualty will provide a local emergency service for patients with acute eye problems, as opposed to longstanding conditions.

The emergency area will operate from 9am – 4:30pm on week days, allowing patients to turn up directly to the eye unit, register and be seen by a specialist. Outside of these hours patients are asked to attend the usual emergency department. 

Consultant Ophthalmologist, Mr Fawcett commented on the service: “This is an opportunity to remind patients, Opticians and GP’s that this service is open for direct referral and as a walk-in service for patients who may be concerned about sight threatening or emergency problems. Conditions such as objects in the eye, scratches, burns, chemical exposure and blunt injuries to the eye or eyelids can all be treated by our specialty team.

“An optometrist or GP should still be visited for all longstanding eye complaints, advice will then be given on treatment and a referral made to the regular eye outpatient department, where necessary.”

As well as introducing an eye casualty, PAH has also embarked on a successful partnership with Moorfields Eye Hospital, to provide treatment for Age-related Macular Degeneration (Wet AMD) and Oculoplastic conditions within the eye unit.

Moorfields’ consultants now regularly attend Princess Alexandra Hospital to provide specialised clinics for West Essex patients locally. Moorfields’ consultant, Mr Praveen Patel commented: “Patients have mentioned the value of providing a high-quality Moorfields specialist service locally in Harlow. From a personal perspective, it has been a privilege to work with staff locally to set up a local Age-related Macular Degeneration treatment service for the benefit of our patients.