Welcome to the Optometry department
At present our team is made up of sixteen full time and part time Optometrists, two pre-registration optometrists and a dispensing optician as well as a small administrative support team. There is more information about our team on the meet the team web page.
We have moved
The main Eye clinic at St. James’s University hospital (including Optometry and dispensing optician services) is now in a new purpose built eye department on Level 04 (the first floor) in Gledhow wing, having moved from its previous location on the Ground floor in Chancellors wing in December 2022.
There is more information below, including a map to direct you to our new department:
Location of new department (329kB)
Access to the Optometry office and dispensing area in the new department in Gledhow wing (avoiding a long trip through the new much bigger department) will be through the exit doors (on the right hand side of the lifts). You will need to use the intercom system to let the team know that you are there for dispensing or collecting items from the office.
If this is not working you can access the office and dispensing area either through the main entrance or through St. James’s laser Vision to the left of the lifts.
Our new Optometry Consulting rooms are labelled with white on Orange signs and Orange wall markers as are the Optometry office and dispensing area.
Telephone support is still available through our Optometry office on 0113 2064742 for urgent queries
and through our email [email protected] for non urgent queries.
What we do
The Optometry department provides a range of specialist hospital optometry services to patients from Leeds, Yorkshire and from across the North of England.
The Optometry team consists of highly qualified optometrists and dispensing opticians who deliver a range of modern optometric core and enhanced services.
Non medical prescribing
The Optometry department has now supported the Consultant Optometrist, Principal Optometrist and ten of our Specialist Optometrists to gain Optometric independent prescribing qualifications. Allowing them to prescribe medication for eye patients in the Acute Referral (Eye Casualty) clinics, Glaucoma, Anterior segment clinics, Iritis, Medical retina and YAG laser clinics at the main eye clinic based at St. James’s University Hospital as well as in Glaucoma clinics at Seacroft Hospital and clinics at Wharfedale Hospital.
There is more information on Optometric Independent prescribing on the Independent prescribing web page
Glaucoma, Medical Retina, Low Vision and Paediatric qualifications
All of our Specialist Optometrists have higher qualifications related to the enhanced clinical roles they perform. These include diplomas and professional certificates in contact lenses, Glaucoma, Medical Retina, Low vision and paediatric eye care.
These form part of a range of post graduate higher qualifications developed by the College of Optometrists.
There is more information on Optometric higher qualifications on the higher qualifications web page.
Hospital Optometry
Consultant Optometrists and Heads of Optometry Services across the country discuss their experiences of a career in Hospital optometry in a video filmed by Optometry Tomorrow at the 2015 Hospital Optometrists Annual Conference.
Please note that this video will play from the Association of Optometrists YouTube site
Here is the YouTube video of Hospital optometrists talking about why they love Hospital optometry
Dispensing service
We are the only hospital department in the Yorkshire area able to offer a specialised hospital based spectacle dispensing service to the Trust’s Optometry and Ophthalmology patients, as such we also receive tertiary referrals for complex spectacle dispensing from other hospital eye departments around Yorkshire.
There is more information about our dispensing services on the dispensing opticians web page
Pre-Registration Optometrist
Our newest pre-registration optometrist began her thirteen month training contract with us in September 2023. Our pre-registration optometrist from 2022 has now successfully completed all her external assessments and her final OSCE assessment as part of the PRP (pre-registration period) and will be taking on a role as a Resident Optometrist in the department.
Eight of our previous Pre-Registration Optometrists having successfully completed their Pre-registration period (PRP) continued working for us as a qualified optometrist in our fixed term two year Resident Optometrist role. The Resident Optometrist post is designed to provide experience and opportunities to develop skills in enhanced optometric roles for newly qualified optometrists. This has allowed three of our colleagues to move on to permanent full time positions within the Hospital eye service in Optometry departments in the South East of England, the North East of England and Scotland. Whilst one of our previous Residents now has permanent part time sessions here at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
In order to become a registered Optometrist you must successfully complete a degree in Optometry followed by a period of supervised training in an Optometry practice, with a number of assessments and a final practical examination.
The Optometry department at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is one of only a few hospital Optometry departments that employs a Pre-registration Optometrist annually. At present on a fixed term thirteen month training contract, usually from August to the end of September of the following year.
There is more information about our Pre-registration year on the Pre-registration Optometrist web page