Features

Refract – react – refer: What more can be done for Lucy?

In the last of his features offering an overview of the ever-evolving provision of help and support for people with visual impairment, Daniel Williams argues that eye care professionals can guide people to a wide array of help without resorting to the traditional approach of referral to secondary services

Lucy, an active woman in her late sixties living in England, became worried when her vision started to deteriorate. After cutting her finger while preparing vegetables, falling when outside, scalding herself while making coffee and struggling to read print or watch television, she concluded that she needed help.

Referral

She made an appointment with her usual optometrist in the hope that her prescription needed changing. During the examination the optometrist noted macular changes and an OCT scan undertaken in practice identified an epi-retinal membrane that could be contributing to her distorted vision (see figure 1). He referred her to an ophthalmologist.

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