Ophthalmology

Who we are

PCH's Ophthalmology Department provides inpatient and outpatient care for children with urgent or more complex eye conditions, including cases presenting to the Emergency Department.

The department is staffed by specialist eye doctors, and supported by junior medical staff (registrars and fellows), orthoptists and specialty nursing staff.

Conditions we manage

We manage all types of eye problems in children. Some are present at birth while others are acquired later. Please note that we do not usually treat conditions that your child’s GP can manage, such as conjunctivitis and minor abrasions. Likewise, we do not provide an optometric service (sale and maintenance of spectacles or contact lenses).

Services we provide

General Ophthalmology clinics

• Vision issues, including refractive error, amblyopia and sight-threatening conditions
• Strabismus 
• External eye, corneal, lens and retinal disorders
• Lids and tear duct disorders
• Glaucoma
• Neurophthalmological conditions 
• Traumatic eye injuries

Specialty clinics

• Neonatal (premature) and infants 
• Oculoplastics (orbit, eyelids, tear ducts and tissues surrounding the eye)
• Retina
• Cornea 
• Genetic eye clinic
• Orthoptic clinic: strabismus, amblyopia, visual acuity assessment, visual field analysis, fundus photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Surgery

We provide a full range of procedures for paediatric ophthalmic conditions:

• strabismus surgery
• juvenile cataract extraction and lens replacement
• glaucoma surgery
• retinal surgery
• management of retinoblastoma
• management of retinopathy of prematurity
• oculoplastic procedure
• orbital surgery
• tear duct procedures
• eyelid procedures, including tarsal cysts curettage.

Referrals

All Specialist Rooms, GP’s and WACHS referrers are being advised to direct all non-urgent referrals for PCH outpatient services to the Central Referral Service.  

Online

https://ww2.health.wa.gov.au/Articles/A_E/Central-Referral-Service-guide-for-referrers 

• New referrals will be assessed against the eligibility guidelines and prioritised according to medical need.
• Referrals from Nurse Practitioners, other non-medical referrers and private hospitals (including those with a private-public partnership) are to be directed to PCH Referral Office.
• All urgent referrals are to be sent to the PCH Referral Office.
• Urgent referrals must always be discussed with the PCH Consultant / Registrar on call before the referral is sent.
• The referral needs to include the name of the Consultant/ Registrar the referrer spoke to.
• Each referral is to be faxed individually.

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