{"id":94,"date":"2021-04-29T05:38:52","date_gmt":"2021-04-29T04:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/cornwall-islesofscilly-loc\/?page_id=94"},"modified":"2026-10-24T18:17:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T17:17:48","slug":"referral-pathways","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.loc-online.co.uk\/cornwall-islesofscilly-loc\/referral-pathways\/","title":{"rendered":"Referral Pathways"},"content":{"rendered":"

Please be aware this website is no longer updated.<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Please visit www.cornwall-loc.co.uk<\/a> for the up to date website.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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Electronic Referral Service (E-RS) Support:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cornwall has introduced an electronic referral system for routine and urgent optometry-to-ophthalmology referrals, which are now submitted via the NHS e-Referral Service (e-RS).<\/p>\n

This change does not affect other referral pathways. Referrals for wet AMD, emergencies, and non-ophthalmology conditions should continue to follow existing processes.<\/p>\n

The NHS Kernow Referral Management Service (RMS) will manage all optometry-to-ophthalmology referrals submitted via e-RS for patients registered with a GP practice in Cornwall or Devon. When selecting a service, please ensure \u201c<\/strong>NHS Kernow RMS\u201d<\/strong> is chosen.<\/p>\n

Further guidance is available in the documents linked below.<\/p>\n

ERS Registration & FAQ’s<\/a>
\nERS User Guide<\/a><\/p>\n

Community Eye Care services: Introduction<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For many years the Department of Health has been trying to encourage delivery of more routine and minor emergency eyecare outside the hospital, and into community optical practices. The aim of this is to free up capacity in the hospital, and to help cope with increasing demand from both the ageing population and new technologies such as wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) treatments.<\/p>\n

Here in Cornwall and the Isle of Scilly, community optical practices are successfully and safely delivering\u00a0 enhanced services as part of local eye care pathways which link into the hospital as appropriate.<\/p>\n

This means that patients with a range of eye health problems are diagnosed, and often treated, by specially trained community optometrists situated in local practices, without the need to travel to hospital. This is the main advantage of this service, as getting to and negotiating a large hospital may be daunting, especially for old or frail patients. Other key benefits are:<\/p>\n