Orthoptic (Eye) Department

The Orthoptic Department is part of the Eye Clinic.

 

Orthoptists are the experts in diagnosing and treating defects in eye movement and problems with how the eyes work together. These can be caused by issues with the muscles around the eyes or defects in the nerves enabling the brain to communicate with the eyes.

 

You may be asked to come and see us if you have a squint (strabismus), lazy eye (amblyopia) or double vision (diplopia).

 

Orthoptists offer a range of treatments in the management or correction of these conditions. This may include eye patches, eye exercises, prisms or glasses.

Whilst the majority of our patients are children, we also work with patients with neurological conditions, such as stroke, brain tumours or multiple sclerosis and patients seen in eye casualty. We help patients to manage the visual symptoms of their condition and provide advice for the visual rehabilitation of these patients.

 

During your appointment we will check how well you can see – we can do this even for non-verbal patients. We will look to see whether your eyes are in alignment and working together and assess how your eye muscles are moving. We may need to check your peripheral vision (visual field assessment).

 

Often you will also need an appointment with one of our Ophthalmologists or Optometrists to check the health of the inside of your eyes and how your eyes are focusing. This may be on the same day as your Orthoptic appointment or at a later date.

Useful Links

British and Irish Orthoptic Society

 

At KGH our morning clinics are from 08:30 until 13:00. Our afternoon clinics are from 13:30 until 16:30. 

 

Our morning clinics at Nene Park Outpatient Unit and Corby Diagnostic Centre start at 08:30 and our afternoon clinics finish at 16:30.