What happens

AT YOUR APPOINTMENT

At Hunter Eye Surgeons, we love to see our patients. Our mission is to welcome you, properly diagnose all the problems you might have, and fix them as quickly and as easily as possible for you.

Your first appointment is so important, so that we can formulate the the best management plan for you.

Please allow two hours for your first visit. At this visit, you will be welcomed by our friendly administration staff. They will need to check your details, your referral, and your safe travel plan to and from our clinics.

Please watch this video to learn more about what will happen at your first appointment

You will then be called by one of our experienced clinical staff. We have optometrists, orthoptists, and clinical assistants trained on all the modern machines that we use to comprehensively assess your eyes. We need to know the main reasons you are coming to see us. We will check your medical history, your vision, your pupils, eye pressure, and other essential tests relevant to your condition. Please make sure you bring your distance glasses, and any eye medications.

We will need to dilate your pupils. This takes 20 minutes, and will blur your vision for up to 6 hours after your appointment. So please do not drive yourself to or from our clinics.

We will take wide-field colour photos of your eye, and for most patients, perform OCT scans of your macula and optic discs.

We will then give you information and show you education media to help you understand the conditions affecting you.

After this comprehensive assessment, you will then see your Eye Surgeon to confirm the diagnoses, and advise you of treatment options.

Some patients require more than one visit to complete the required assessment, but we do try to complete all the required work in your first visit. Please let us know if your time is limited and you need to rebook for a second appointment.

At Hunter Eye Surgeons, we are regularly asked to see urgent patients. Usually these patients are suffering with pain, loss of vision, or urgent disease requiring urgent treatment. As you would expect, we prioritise these patients. We do not want any patient going blind because of neglect, and we understand that we are often the last people standing between these urgent patients and blindness. At Newcastle Eye Hospital we built a comprehensive service able to fix any problem, and often we are called upon to do just that.

All we ask from our patients is that they demonstrate understanding, and that they do not abuse our staff or doctors if they are delayed in their efforts to fight blindness for other people.