Protocol for referrals into Ophthalmology

Please see the attached TRIAGE TOOL to help ascertain the level of urgency required for referrals into UHL Ophthalmology.

EMERGENCY and URGENT Referrals

All eye emergencies and urgent referrals are managed by the eye casualty team (this is all referrals to be seen within 2-3 weeks according to the above Triage Tool).

Please email uhl-tr.ophthalmologyeyecasualtymailbox@nhs.net for any emergency or urgent referrals that need to be seen in rapid access clinics.

Please be assured that a clinical triager will be able to prioritise the urgency of the referral, as we know that some suspect pathologies need to be seen sooner than others. You can send in your practice’s referral form or use UHL’s proforma Eye Casualty Referral form.

AMD and MEDICAL RETINA Referrals

Please note that all AMD and urgent Medical Retina referrals are now on Cinapsis. However, if you do not have access to Cinapsis, you can use the above eye casualty email to make these rapid access referrals.

When sending referrals via email, please ensure they are either in Word or PDF format. Please include the following:

Correct patient details: name, address, DOB and phone number, NHS number if available.
A clear reason for referral and relevant clinical findings
Best Corrected Visual Acuity and up-to-date refraction result
Ensure the referral is legible when scanned from a printed sheet
Name and practice address of the referring optometrist.

An NHS.net email account meets all of the relevant standards for safe data sharing and is therefore the preferred method of sending email referrals.

ROUTINE Referrals

Cinapsis is the preferred referral platform for all ROUTINE cases.

To on-board your practice to Cinapsis, please see the attached guidance. The contact for all Cinapsis queries is Luke Craig, Director EMMS PCL: lukecraig.llrpcl@nhs.net or 07818531289.

Please ensure you include the patient’s NHS number with each referral. Adding the patient’s official first name, surname and DoB will allow you to find the patient’s NHS number on NHS Spine which is available on the Cinapsis platform.

**** All other UHL email addresses are no longer available from 1 Nov 2025 ****

If your practice has not been able to sign onto the Cinapsis platform, routine referrals can be made:

via the GP through the eRS system
as an interim measure ONLY (for practices not yet on Cinapsis), there is a temporary email route for routine and urgent referrals. This will remain open until end of January 2026, to allow practices time to make the necessary arrangements to be onboarded onto Cinapsis.

- Please send referrals to: uhl-tr.triageteammailbox@nhs.net
- Please title the email RE: Onward Ref to UHL Triage Team FAO Cataract Team.
- Please ensure the service specialty is clearly defined on the referral.

Advice and Guidance

Please use the “Advice & Guidance” tab on Cinapsis if you want a clinical opinion on a case and wish to know which pathway might be appropriate. Clinical Triage will take place every working day (Monday to Friday).

Where is the Eye Casualty Department in UHL?

The Eye Casualty department is based in the Windsor Eye Clinic, Windsor Building, Level 1 at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Eye Casualty Opening Hours:

Monday to Friday – 08:30 to 16:30

Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays – 8:30 to 12:30

Outside these times emergency patients can attend the main Accident and Emergency Department and will be referred to the on-call eye team if necessary.

If you want to discuss an emergency or urgent referral, please contact the eye casualty reception on 0116 258 6273.