The community urgency Eyecare service (CUES) provides urgent assessment, and treatment for sudden onset eye problems such as flashes, floaters, vision loss or minor eye injuries for people in the Black Country.
What symptoms can be treated by the urgent Eyecare service?
- Red or painful eye or eyelids
- Recently occurring flashes and floaters
- Recent and sudden loss of vision
- Foreign body in the eye
- Please note that this service is not an eye test
This service does not cover long standing or major eye conditions that are being regularly monitored by your optometrist or hospital eye service, such as cataracts, diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma (including repeat pressure measurements). In such instance you should consult your usual optometrist or hospital eye service directly for advice in the usual way.
Who is this service for?
- All adults and children registered with GP in the Black Country can use this service - and you do not need a GP referral!
- Children under 16 years bust be accompanied at their appointment by an adult.
How do I access the service?
- You can self-refer or be referred/redirected to the service by another health care provider e.g. GP, Pharmacist, optician, care navigator, NHS 111, Hospital eye service, A&E or MIU.
- To self-refer find a local optometry practice that offers Community Urgent Eyecare service appointment.
- An appointment will normally be required- whether virtually (telephone or video) or face to face, so please telephone first.
- Please so not visit the practice without first booking an urgent appointment. You will be asked some questions about your symptoms to assess your needs. More urgent cases will be seen within 24hrs.
What should I expect when contacting this service?
On contacting this service, the call handler will register your details, check eligibility and arrange a phone call with a qualified optometrist.
The optometrist will assess your condition remotely by telephone or video consultation resulting in one of the following outcomes:
- Management of the condition over the telephone, providing you with advice/ guidance and/ or recommending medication where necessary.
- Where prescribed medication is required, a request will be sent to your GP for this.
- Arrange for you to attend a local Optician for a Face to Face appointment for further assessment/ treatment or certain conditions e.g. foreign body removal.
- Make an urgent referral to one of the local hospitals as your condition requires Urgent care in the Hospital eye service.
What should I expect when contacting the service?
Make a non-urgent referral to one of the local hospitals as your condition requires routine care in the Hospital Eye Service.
Make a referral to your GP, where the optician has concerns that you may have a systemic condition.
Appointments are available during normal working hours and some practices offer appointments in the evening and at weekends. Not all practices have an optometrist available every day, but if they don’t, they will be able to find you an alternative appointment nearby.
Attention parents in the Black Country! If your child Is under 16 and experiencing eye issues, our CUES service is available for them too, to make an appointment call NHS 111 or you can self-refer. Find your local Eyecare practice here: primaryeyecare.co.uk/find-a-practice