People in Lanarkshire who have eye problems this winter are being asked to visit a special network of optometrists for assessment and treatment.
The Lanarkshire Eye-health Network Service (LENS) provides an alternative to visiting the pharmacist or busy GP practices and hospital emergency departments.
LENS is available in most optometry practices (opticians), offering free emergency eye appointments and quick, expert treatment.
An optometrist is a medical professional who specialises in eye care and is trained to carry out comprehensive eye checks, to examine, diagnose and treat a variety of conditions and diseases.
The LENS optician practices are available in all Lanarkshire localities and offer an appointment and assessment service for any eye condition including red eyes, sore eyes, deterioration of eyesight or any other disturbance of their sight.
They can provide advanced treatment for most eye conditions and also issue eye drops to patients where appropriate.
In addition, around half of Lanarkshire optometrists can prescribe medications.
Over 70 local opticians are part of LENS and, if necessary, the experts there can arrange effective, prioritised referral to hospital.
The aim of LENS is to improve community eye care and to prevent needless visits to hospital for those who have a concern over the health of their eyes.
Optometrist Frank Munro, who is an NHS Lanarkshire optometric adviser, said: “Optometrists are the community eye experts and have the professional training and necessary equipment to assess eye problems and treat most acute conditions.
“Rather than going to your pharmacist, GP or hospital emergency department with eye problems or injuries, you should make an optometrist your first port of call.
“Our optometrists can also arrange an early appointment with the hospital eye casualty clinic, if necessary.
“Going through LENS ensures that eye patients are seen by the most appropriate practitioner, in the shortest possible time, to receive the fastest and most effective care from our community eye-care specialists.”
Visit the community optician page on NHS Lanarkshire’s website for full information on LENS and a list of participating practices.
You can also find out which opticians are part of LENS by calling the NHS Lanarkshire General Enquiry Line on 0300 3030 243.
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