A Hereford woman whose eyesight was saved thanks to the intervention of BBR Optometry wants to raise awareness of the Primary Eyecare Acute Referral Scheme (PEARS) that is available to patients throughout Herefordshire.
The woman, who prefers not to be named, noticed redness in her eyes and made an appointment at Hereford’s only independently-owned practice to get it checked out.
She says: “It was only when I arrived for my appointment that I was made aware of PEARS and, as the optometrist suspected Glaucoma, I was immediately referred to the eye clinic at Hereford Hospital.
“My Glaucoma is now being treated and I am due for a review at the end of March but thanks to PEARS, it was caught early so the outcomes should be positive and I believe BBR prevented me from going blind which would have had a significant impact on my quality of life.
“The service they offered was impeccable and I would just urge anyone else in the county who notices changes in their eyes to use PEARS as well because it could save them from sight-threatening conditions,” she added.
Nick Black, BBR’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted to offer PEARS which aims to help people access quality eye care without putting an additional burden on A&E services. At BBR we set aside appointments every day so that we ensure that patients with symptoms that may be serious can be seen promptly.
“The scheme, initiated by the CCG, is designed to ensure that patients with eye-related problems can access a response from a qualified optometrist within 48 hours – without the need for a GP referral.
“More than 20 optometrists and opticians throughout the Herefordshire region are currently registered with the PEARS scheme which is open to any patient with a Hereford GP. Being an NHS service, it is free at the point of delivery,” he added.
BBR firmly believes that everyone should be able to access acute eye care in the community when it’s most needed but this case shows there is still some work to do in raising awareness among the public at large.
Historically people may not always have approached their optician or optometrist with issues that are health, rather than vision related, such as red eyes, sore eyes, or even a foreign body in the eye, but as optometrists, BBR are able to help with far more than sight alone.
Nick adds: “Herefordshire residents are lucky that Hereford’s County Hospital does offer the dedicated Victoria Eye Unit, but as it caters for everyone in the Wye Valley region (and even beyond), the department regularly experiences a high demand for its services.
“The PEARS scheme is part of the NHS’ widespread efforts to encourage people to think about alternative pathways to treatment to help alleviate overburdened A&E departments.
“PEARS is designed to work in a similar way to the NHS’ campaign to get more people to access help in non-emergency situations from places other than A&E, for example by visiting their local pharmacist or using the 111 helpline,” he added.
Find out more about Ophthalmic care available in the community by visiting the Wye Valley NHS Trust website.