Eye Service - Bury Community, Heywood, Middleton, Rochdale (HMR) Community

The Community Eye Service provides specialist eye services in Bury, Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale.

When you’re referred to us, you’ll be cared for by a team of Orthoptists, Optometrists and support staff working in health centres and community clinics, or at the Eye Clinic at Rochdale Infirmary.

Bury

Orthoptic clinics for children and adults
Orthoptic Visual Processing Difficulties Clinics
Specialist optometry clinics for children and young adults with complex needs
Low vision services for adults and children
Orthoptic service for children with complex needs
Orthoptic service for adults with learning difficulties
Glaucoma services
School screening
Special school services

Heywood Middleton and Rochdale

Orthoptic clinics for children
Specialist optometry clinics for children and young adults with complex needs
Orthoptic service for children with complex needs
School screening
Special school services
Adult and low vision services are delivered at Rochdale Infirmary as part of the Ophthalmology service.

We offer a wide range of clinics and treatments depending on your needs.

It’s likely you’ll be seen at a local health centre by one or two specialist clinicians. They’ll carry out a series of tests and observations before discussing next steps with you.

If you’re a glaucoma patient, you’ll have eye drops instilled and may be in clinic for up to an hour.

Before attending our low vision clinics, you’ll be asked to complete a large print format form so the practitioner can understand your needs. They can then establish the best strategies and equipment to help you in daily life. Your assessment will take at least an hour.

Children attending a refraction clinic will be seeing an optometrist who’ll perform a glasses test and examine the back of their eyes. It’s likely they’ll have to have drops in their eyes for these tests which can be instilled in clinic or at home before coming to the appointment. Parents and carers are provided with instructions on the drops within the appointment letter.

Orthoptic appointments usually take less than an hour, often only twenty minutes, with tests adjusted to your age and ability. You don’t need to read letters to be tested - we can assess the vision of newborn baby. Children often enjoy the assessments as they’re presented in a fun way.

Vision screening, consisting of a very simple test, is carried out in school when children are in Reception. Parents and carers are notified when the screening is being carried out and informed of the result.

Visual Processing Difficulties appointments are offered to children and young people over the age of 7 who are experiencing difficulties specifically with literacy and visual processing. The appointment can take up to an hour to complete and may involve the assessment of eye coordination, visual tracking and for the signs and symptoms of visual stress.

Townside Primary Care Centre, 4th Floor, Knowsley St, Bury

We accept appropriate referrals from clinicians and from patients or their parents/carers.

E-mail spoa.fax@nca.nhs.uk

A revised referral form for professionals will need to be completed and emailed to the Bury SPOA team.