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REFERRALS

The two main ophthalmology departments are The Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle ( CIC) and West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven.( WCH)

Urgent

Urgent referrals with or without  images can be sent by email ( you need a nhs email account / the practice may have one that you can use ) to ncm-tr.eye.emergencyncic@nhs.net . This is for both hospitals 

This includes wet AMD referral , for which you would attach the College of Ophthalmologists Wet AMD leaflet ( attached below )

The emergency telephone no for CIC is 01228 814727 Ext 4 and for WCH 01946 693181 ( hospital switchboard will put you through)

OUT OF HOURS , WEEKENDS AND EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS

It has come to our attention that the Eye Dept at CIC are directing that Emergency Referrals are sent in by email and not by phone .

While this is appropriate for some of the referrals , please be aware that  the email Inbox is not checked after hours or at weekends , so if you need a referral at these  times , phone the main switchboard  and ask to speak to the On Call Ophthalmologist  . Tel no 01228 523444.

If you have an emergency that needs to be seen the same day , or you need to be completely sure that it is attended to within a specified time period , Phone the eye department anyway and then send the email as directed.

When you speak to someone in the Eye Department , it is always recommended to make a note of the persons name , time & date  and what they have said.

It is always advisable to tell your patient to revert to you if they do not get an appointment within the expected time frame , so then you can follow up by phone.

When sending emails , remember to tick the ” receipt read ” box  on the email.

Remember that the responsibility lies with the referrer until the patient is seen, or at the very least until they have a booked appointment

Orthoptist

The orthoptists can be contacted at orthoptists@ncic.nhs.uk if needed . They also run the Low Vision Clinic and there is a Referral form to email to them ( attached)

Routine

For non urgent referral just use a standard referral letter or GOS 18 through the GP ( for now ) 

GPwSI

There is also Cumbria Medical Services : www.cumbriamedicalservices.co.uk – they are for things like chronic dry eyes , sore eyes , glaucoma referrals etc . and they have clinics in Carlisle and Workington.(details attached)

Private

Private providers include Mr Ainsworth www.lakelandvision.co.uk and The Lancaster Hospital 080014202316  , also The Cumbrian clinic 01946 523380

Cataract 

Cataract referral can be made to HES , although there is a long waiting list , so we also refer to Newmedica at Teeside and there is a new facility at Kendal ( SpaMedica)

You can contact Newmedica to discover how to become accredited to do follow ups for them ( then processed through Opera )

Additional services

We are involved in the IOP Referral refinement scheme , basically if patient has IOP 24 or over with no other suspicious symptoms , they have IOP repeated with Contact tonometry and if still still 24 or over then it is rechecked in 2 weeks and if still high , referred electronically to an ophthalmologist . This is administered through the OPERA portal  , details are in there 

You need to have the WOPEC glaucoma certificates & DBS

We have also recently introduced  the CUES scheme , still very new to all of us ; the details are also all in the OPERA website , including what certificates etc are needed ,

You may already be familiar with OPERA , otherwise you need to be invited by a practice to be enrolled as a Practitioner and then there are Videos which give good guidelines

DBS Information 

Disclosure and Barring (DBS) checks are a contractual requirement to providers of enhanced services such as the new post cataract service. Optical practices will have made a submission on QIO that their optometrists are DBS checked. However, Primary Eyecare Services will need optometrists to be registered with the DBS update service so that we can evidence this as part of our contractual requirements.

You may apply for a DBS certificate via your professional bodies or in some cases your employer. I have added a link for AOP members. The cost is £44+admin fee.
https://www.aop.org.uk/membership/benefits/dbs-checks
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dbs-application-forms-guide-for-applicants
You will need to select an enhanced check with barred lists shows the same as an enhanced check plus whether the applicant is on the list of people barred from doing the role. Once you receive the certificate, you will need to register for the DBS update service, please click on the following link for further information and to register.
https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service
Please note: YOU MUST REGISTER FOR THE UPDATE SERVICE WITHIN 30 DAYS OF THE CERTIFICATE DATE, PLEASE DO THIS AS SOON AS YOU RECEIVE THE CERTIFICATE. IF YOUR CERTIFICATE IS OVER 30 DAYS OLD THEN YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO USE THIS FOR THE UPDATE SERVICE AND WILL NEED TO REAPPLY AND PAY FOR A NEW DBS CERTIFICATE.

Becoming a Primary Eyecare Services Subcontractor 

To start using PEC services you are required to complete and upload some practice compliance governance documents and practitioner documents for each service.
To start the process please complete a registration form via this link http://bit.ly/opto-reg-portal
Once you have completed your registration this will prompt a signable contract which will be sent from Cegedim Rx as a signable document so please also look out for this in your junk mail
too.
Please sign the document; once signed you will then be contacted by Cegedim RX with your Login details to gain access to the Optomanager Platform.
Once you have gained access you need to upload your Practice GOS & NHS contract compliance for approval.
All the checklists are found within https://www.qualityinoptometry.co.uk/ please ensure you complete the NHS Standard Contract – LOC subcontractor (long form) checklist which can be found under the NHS contracts tab by clicking the arrow at the side of checklist type and selecting LOC sub-contractor (Long form). The policies required are found on the help button and can be tailored for your practice. On IG checklist select NA for 11-304 as that relates to NHS smart cards. (Please see attached document – QiO
Assistance)
Contractor Compliance documents required to upload to the system for approval as follows:
GOS Standard Contract (Quality in optometry level 1) can be found under the GOS standard contract tab please save as a PDF document.
NHS Standard Contract – LOC Sub-contractor checklist (Long Form) can be found under the NHS Standard Contract tab please save as a PDF document.
QiO assistance.docx

Once completed and saved the above GOS & NHS contracts are then uploaded into the OPTOManager platform and approved by the Clinical Governance & Performance Lead.
Once the practice is approved you can then upload your Practitioner accreditation as follows:
Your practitioners will need to complete the relevant WOPEC online courses for the service/s you are applying for; If you havent completed them already, please contact your local LOC and request the WOPEC codes for the services. For OSCE events locally look at the calendar of events on https://wopec.co.uk/
Safeguarding Level 2 for adults & children (2 separate modules). Found at https://docet.info/ (please note no codes required for these modules)
DBS certificate Number, please see attached guidance for practitioners for further information.