Eye care treatment centres set up after £3m investment

New centres have been set up to help Scots who suffer emergency eye problems during the coronavirus pandemic.

Health secretary Jeane Freeman has announced £3m of Scottish Government cash towards the creation of more than 50 emergency eye care treatment centres.

These are being set up in all health board areas, while hubs in NHS Grampian and NHS Forth Valley will also benefit from new technology.

Live video and audio feeds between the centres and consultants in hospitals are being used to allow more patients to be immediately diagnosed and treated.

Patients, who will have an initial telephone consultation, will be referred to optometrists if needed.

Freeman said: “While services have changed dramatically over the last few weeks, my message is clear – if you are worried about your health in any way, please get in touch with your GP.

“The same applies to your vision – if you have experienced any problems with your sight, please contact your local high street optician as soon as possible.”

She thanked health boards and eye care specialists for the “excellent collaboration in establishing, at pace, more than 50 emergency eye care treatment centres across Scotland to manage patients without Covid-19 symptoms who need an emergency face-to-face consultation”.

The health secretary added: “I am pleased to see some NHS boards are also using innovative new tele-ophthalmology technology.

“This means that more patients can be immediately diagnosed and treated in a community setting while gaining an expert opinion from the secondary care ophthalmology team.”