What is an eye emergency?

The eye casualty unit deals with all kinds of eye emergencies.

What is an ophthalmic (eye) emergency?

There are a whole range of situations when emergency treatment is needed for the eyes.

These can include:

• Chemical injury - irrigate the eye well 10-15 minutes before coming to eye casualty.
• Sudden loss of vision within the last four to six hours.
• Sudden onset of painful red eye.
• Injury to the eye.

If you are not sure that your eye condition is an emergency call 023 8079 6592 for advice.

The unit also runs an assessment clinic for patients who are not true eye emergencies but need an urgent eye assessment within a week. This clinic runs in the afternoon from Monday to Thursday and in the morning on Friday.

If you have had a problem for more than 48 hours please contact your GP first.

Out of hours service

A small emergency clinic is run at the weekends and on Bank Holiday mornings for patients whose eye condition cannot wait until the following week.

After 6pm on weekdays and after 1pm at weekends and on Bank Holidays, eye casualty is led by nurses who have access to medical support if it is needed.