The Health and Social Care Board have issued the following statement.
As of 24 March 2020 the following situation applies:
All routine General Ophthalmic Services should be suspended with immediate effect
from 24 March 20
Only essential and urgent eyecare services should be provided
All domiciliary eyecare services should be suspended
We will remain open for EMERGENCY and ESSENTIAL EYE EXAMINATIONS only. Sadly normal routine eye care is no longer possible if we are to reduce the risk of spreading the virus from person to person.
Here is what we can help you with:
- Your vision has suddenly changed or become blurry.
- You have a painful red eye.
- You have been advised to attend this practice by NHS 111 or another healthcare professional, e.g your GP, for your urgent eye care.
- You have broken or lost your glasses and need a replacement pair to function.
- You have a problem with your contact lenses.
Conditions that can be assessed under this FREE NHS service include:
- Red eye or eyelids.
- Irritation and inflammation of the eye.
- Significant recent sticky discharge from the eye or watery eye.
- Recently occurring flashes and floaters.
- Recent and sudden loss of vision.
- Foreign body in the eye / something stuck under your eyelid.
- Ingrowing lashes.
PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS NOT A SIGHT TEST.
If you have a major eye condition that is normally monitored by a visit to our practice or the hospital eye service this will NOT be covered by this service: for example, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy or glaucoma.
If you have any concerns about your eyes or vision or if we have glasses/contact lenses ready for you to collect please contact either practice by telephone – Howard Street – 028 9032 4366 or Ballyhackamore – 028 9065 8898 or email us on info@richardowensopticians.com. We may be able to answer your queries over the phone or video call without you needing to come into the practice. You can also contact us via the website or Facebook.
Spectacles
Rules about the supply of spectacles have been altered so if you need to get a pair of glasses, even if your prescription is out of date, we are able to accommodate you. Please phone the practice to discuss your requirements and we will do our utmost to get you sorted. Replacement glasses may be posted to you or on occasion delivered. Repeat orders for adults or children may be ordered by phone.
If it is essential to call into the practice to collect glasses or contact lenses please phone first so we can arrange a suitable time.
Contact Lenses
We can supply your contact lenses posted to home and some suppliers offer a direct to home service. Again please contact us via phone or email to discuss your requirements.
At the practice
We now must strictly observe social/physical distancing and therefore must limit the number of people in the practice at any one time. Once inside we respectfully ask you to maintain the recommended 2 metre distance from others. Apologies in advance if this causes delay which we will do our best to limit but these measures are put in place to protect you and the staff. Stringent hygiene will be observed.
We are Belfast’s largest stockists of Oliver Peoples frames and the exclusive stockist in Northern Ireland for Garrett Leight Californian Optical. Our other major brands include Lindberg, Cutler & Gross, Lafont, Paul Smith and Philippe Starck. We also offer brands such as Marie Claire, Gigi Barcelona and update our stock frequently, so please visit us to see what we have that you might like.
The practice specialises in contact lenses including “Ortho K” – the alternative to laser. To find out more about Ortho K Nocturnal lenses click here
