Luton Childrens/Orthoptic Referral Guidelines
Eye Clinic – Children’s Services
Liverpool Road Health Centre
9 Mersey Place
Liverpool Road
Luton
LU1 1HH
Children’s Community Health Hub
0300 555 0606
ccs.bedsandlutonchildrenshealthhub@nhs.net
Dear Optometrists,
The Community Eye Clinic consists of Orthoptists, Specialist Optometrists and a Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmologist.
Referral Guidelines into the Community Eye Clinic
-Ensure all information is accurate and up to date
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Opticians:
We are making changes to the VISION SCREENING PROGRAMME FROM 2nd June 2025.
Children who have failed the test with logMAR vision of 0.225 – 0.350 in one or both eyes will be advised to attend a high street optician. We have completed an audit of this group of children and none of them needed patching treatment for amblyopia.
Children who have failed the test with logMAR vision of 0.375 and worse in one or both eyes will continue to be referred to the Community Eye Service for further detailed assessment as this group are more likely to have amblyopia.
Please note that National Vision screening recommendations for children is a pass rate of 0.2 logMAR (6/9.5) – please do not refer children with 0.2 logMAR (6/9.5) or better vision to the eye department.
The parents/carers will be informed by letter/email of the correct pathway for their child with clear next steps for them to follow, with links to our website for further information.
Please see the attachment above for a reminder of the Referral Criteria into the Community Eye Service.
We would recommend that children under the age of 7 should have a cycloplegic refraction.
Please prescribe any significant refractive error found
If reduced vision is caused by refractive error alone please review the child after a period of refractive adaptation (3 to 4 months). Referral in these cases is only required if the vision still remains reduced after refractive adaptation.
If there is a coexisting binocular vision anomaly such as a squint please prescribe spectacles. You can then choose to refer or monitor the effect of the spectacles and refer onwards if required.
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