Eye Testing

A comprehensive eye examination not only identifies whether your eyesight needs correcting but can reveal underlying health problems such as high blood pressure or diabetes as well as detecting eye diseases such as glaucoma and cataracts. It is recommended to have an eye examination every two years although certain people need to be seen more frequently, for example if you have a family history of glaucoma or are diabetic.

Our new digital retinal camera allows us to capture an image of the back of the eye in seconds. This gives us a permanent and accurate record of the health of the eye which we store on our computer and can then compare images year on year, to monitor any changes to the eye health. The retinal examination is comfortable and is captured in seconds using flash photography. We do make an additional charge for this worthwhile examination as it is not normally available under the standard NHS funded eye test.

Our computerised recall system will notify you when you are due to be re-examined.
Many people are exempt from eye test charges – to find out if you are exempt, please click here. We provide a comprehensive eye examination which usually takes about 30 minutes. It includes:

• discussing your needs – we need to know what you want
• your medical history – certain medicines can affect your eyes
• external and internal examination of the eye – up-to-date equipment is used to determine the health and coordination of the eyes.
• assessing your vision – a careful check of your vision is made and then we ascertain any correction your vision may require.
• eye movements – it is important to check the eyes are working together effectively otherwise undue eye-strain may occur.
• visual fields – modern computerised equipment is used to check the visual field.

At the end of the examination we will have a detailed knowledge of how good your eyes are. We take time to explain our findings, discuss your requirements and advise when your next test is recommended.

Common eye problems we routinely pick up are explained in our online patient information leaflets.