Referral Pathways

The current expected wait time for routine referrals for all areas can be found on the My Planned Care NHS website and is updated weekly.

PLEASE NOTE:
Extra Information is available in members area of the website.

ALL TELEPHONE NUMBERS AND EMAIL ON THIS PAGE ARE FOR PROFESSIONAL USE ONLY. THEY SHOULD NOT BE USED BY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC

ERM or Macular holes should be referred to the Vitreoretinal service(via urgent/GP as appropriate). Then referrals are seen by the Surgical retinal team rather than the Medical retina team who do not treat ERMs or Macular holes.

Please see the table below for guidance:

Medical retina	Surgical retina (Vitreoretinal)	General clinic
Retinal vascular occlusion	Macular hole/VMT	Choroidal Naevus
Macular degeneration	Epiretinal membrane
Diabetic retinopathy/maculopathy	Retinal detachment
Central serous chorioretinopathy	Abnormal PVD
Retinal dystrophies	Peripheral retinal holes

MECS/CUES Services

There are currently no MECS or CUES services commissioned in the NTW footprint area. All non-GOS activity is offered privately to patients or directed to the NHS provision via the Eye Emergency Departments.

Newcastle Eye Centre, RVI – NuTH (Updated June 2023)

Clinical queries: This should not be used to make new referrals.

Any non-urgent queries relating to patients already under the care of NuTH that cannot be addressed by the options below should be directed to the email address below.

nuth.commoptometryqueries@nhs.net

Patient appointment queries:

Any patient with a query about the status of their next appointment should contact this number and will be directed to the correct team.

0191 2825905

Post-op cataract queries:

Any patient who has a query following cataract surgery should use these numbers which are staffed by nurses from the cataract unit. These are given to all patients at discharge.

8.30am – 5pm – 0191 9330235/0236

Evenings and weekend – 0191 282 5420

The following email address can also be used, which is checked daily by practitioners.

nuth.ophpractitionerqueries@nhs.net

AMD treatment queries:

Any patient who has a query following an injection/treatment for AMD should use these numbers which are staffed by the AMD practitioner team.

8.00am – 6.00pm – 0191 2826612

Evenings and weekends – 0191 282 5420

Referrals for Wet AMD and Vein Occlusions with CMO:

These can be referred directly using the wet AMD proforma and emailed to the address below.

tnu-tr.ophthalmologyreferrals@nhs.net

Wet AMD forms:

Wet AMD form (docx format) Updated April 2021.

Wet AMD form (pdf format) Updated April 2021.

Our macular colleagues within NuTH have requested that all Wet AMD urgent referrals are annotated with date and time of examination, along with the contact phone number for the patient and their date of birth.

These should theoretically all be same-day referrals. Please inform patients that the macula clinic remotely triages by urgency and aims to contact patients within two weeks for their appointment.

Further clinical queries:

Any other non-urgent queries relating to patients already under the care of NuTH that cannot be addressed by the options above should be directed to the email address below.

nuth.commoptometryqueries@nhs.net

Sunderland Eye Infirmary (updated Jan 2023)

All patients should be referred before attending the department. There is still the possibility to see and manage patients 24/7 where clinically indicated.

Patients can self refer by calling the new 24/7 emergency number at Sunderland Eye Infirmary 0191 5699952

and will speak to a specialist who will carry out a telephone consultation and, if necessary, arrange for patients to be seen face-to-face.

Patients who are assessed by a clinician or allied health professional and Optometrists should refer the patients to the on-call Ophthalmology clinician if the expectation is for the patient to be seen in our emergency department.

Emergency referrals (same day referral and seen within 48 hours)

Please telephone the on call emergency department team to discuss the referral:

Call the emergency telephone number – 0191 5699952
Do not advise the patient to attend the department before agreeing with the on-call ophthalmology clinician on the best time and day for the patient to attend.

Urgent referrals can be sent directly to SEI – these contacts can only be used for referrals that need to be actioned/vetted within 2 weeks.

Email* – seiapptsteam@nhs.net
Call the appointments team to notify them of an urgent referral being emailed. – 0191 5699072
Please ensure the patient’s telephone number is included on the referral.

*Please ensure patient details are only sent from a NHS.net account – if you do not have access to a nhs.net account please use fax as an alternative.

Wet ARMD Referrals

Please ensure all wet ARMD referrals are sent on the SEI rapid access wet ARMD form:

https://www.stsft.nhs.uk/application/files/9615/5117/7339/SEI-AMD-rapid-referral-form-3-.pdf

Email* – seiapptsteam@nhs.net

*Please ensure patient details are only sent from a NHS.net account – if you do not have access to a nhs.net account please use fax as an alternative.

Wet ARMD Fast Track

For wet AMD email: stsft.seiapptsteam@nhs.net Updated January 2021.
Wet AMD forms:
Wet AMD form (editable docx format) Updated February 2021.

Please inform patients that the macula clinic remotely triages by urgency and aims to contact patients within two weeks for their appointment.

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (updated Dec 2024)

(Darlington Memorial Hospital / Bishop Auckland General Hospital / University Hospital of North Durham)

Referral Guidelines and phone numbers can be found HERE

For further information regarding NHS-funded community clinical pathways in County Durham, contact Durham LOC (secretary@durhamloc.co.uk) or Primary Eyecare Services ( naomi.smith@primaryeyecare.co.uk) who manage these services.

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