Nurses failed to refer corneal ulcer patient

An eye specialist at Kidderminster General Hospital has voiced concerns about nurses making decisions that 'go beyond their training' when a contact lens wearer was left virtually blind in one eye from a corneal ulcer.

Nurses at the minor injuries unit (MIU) prescribed ointments to Claire Holmes on two occasions, but did not refer her.

Ophthalmologist Paul Chell, clinical director of ophthalmology at the hospital, said that by the time Holmes was referred she had lost 95 per cent of vision in her eye. The MIU has now changed the process of dealing with patients who present with an eye injury.