Our services
Eye Emergency
We do our best to accommodate for all our patients who may develop acute symptoms. If you develop any of the following symptoms:
- Sudden loss of vision
- Change in floaters and/or flashes of lights in vision
- Painful/ Red eye
You need to be seen by an optometrist or see the local eye emergency department. Please contact the practice for further advice where our receptionists are trained to ask the appropriate questions. An Optometrist will call you back as soon as they can, to give you the appropriate advice.
Please note there will be a charge for this appointment, as the NHS does not fund ANY eye emergency appointments even if you are eligible for an NHS funded eye examination.
Children's Eye Examinations
We understand it can be a daunting experience for your child to have their eyes examined by a stranger therefore we try our best to make it a fun and enjoyable experience.
Some children may not realise they have a vision problem which can affect your children’s development and education. All children under the age of 16 (up to 18 in Full Time Education) qualify for an NHS eye examination. The Optometrist can check for signs of a lazy eye (Amblyopia), a squint (Strabismus) and check the health of the eye. An earlier diagnosis will provide a better outcome for any possible treatment.
Occasionally we may require putting some eye drops in your child’s eyes to relax the muscles of their eyes in order to determine whether your child needs spectacles or not.
If spectacles are required, we have a large selection of frames to choose from, some of which are completely covered on the NHS voucher or will contribute towards the cost of the glasses.
Retinal Photography and OCT
Retinal photography
Retinal Photography is a quick and painless procedure that captures a digital image of the central retina (back of the eye). The central retina plays an important role in the quality of your vision.
A photograph assists in detecting eye diseases earlier as the digital image is uploaded and stored on the computer. When you return for your next appointment comparisons can be made to check for subtle changes at the back of the eye.
Ocular Coherence Tomographer (OCT)
An Ocular Coherence Tomographer (OCT) scanner can detect, diagnose and manage a range of eye conditions before you even have any symptoms.
It is a non-invasive machine that uses light waves to take a 3D cross section of the Macula and Optic Nerve Head. They are areas that are significant for our central and peripheral vision and therefore we can detect early signs of maculopathy and optic neuropathies before they begin to cause any symptoms.
Please contact us if you would like further information on the OCT scanner.
Visual Field Screening
Visual field screening is used to test your peripheral (side) vision. This test can detect conditions affecting the Optic Nerve such as Glaucoma that can affect the visual pathway.
At Dickinson Optometrists we use the Humphrey Visual Field Analyser. It is the ‘Gold Standard’ visual screener.
The test involves placing your chin on the chin rest and fixating on a central yellow light.
Throughout the test you press a button when you detect a white flash of light on the surrounding screen, taking approximately 5 minutes for each eye.
Myopia Management
For many years there has been research into the treatments of Myopia Control but there was not enough evidence to support the long-term effects.
More recently stronger evidence has shown there are two main treatments that help to reduce the progression of myopia and they are now licensed in the UK. They are:
- Wearing specialised designed Contact Lenses
- Wearing specialised designed spectacle lenses
We are always keeping up to date with new technological advances and we feel it is very important to keep our patients up to date with this.
Our practice is now accredited to provide both treatments for Myopia Control. There is an additional fee to the NHS funded voucher. Please contact us if you like further information on Myopia Control.