Your essential diabetes care
Anybody living in the UK that is over the age of 12 years old and has been diagnosed with diabetes is eligible for free eye screening under the NHS. You will be sent an appointment time and details through email, where you can use our online portal to manage your appointments online, or you’ll receive a letter via post.
The appointment will last around 30 – 40 minutes, and all details needed will be included on your appointment letter, so please read this carefully. It is extremely important to attend these appointments to reduce complications with your vision, diabetic eye screening aims to detect diabetic retinopathy before any complications arise. Remember this is different from a regular eye test with an optician, we are looking for any complications related to your diabetes, we recommend you still attend both your regular opticians and eye screening appointments.
What happens at the appointment?
Your History
Before we start, we will confirm your details and ask you some questions about your diabetes.
Visual Acuity Test
We will then do a basic sight test, to understand your best vision. Please bring any glasses to your appointment.
Dilation Drops
You will then be given dilation drops; these are used to widen your pupils to get clear images. They may sting a little, see below for more information. You will then be sent back to the waiting room.
Photographs
After your eyes are dilated, you will be called back in, and we will use an advanced camera to take images of the back of your eyes. After this you are free to go.
Grading
The images of your eyes are sent to be assessed by our graders; we cannot give you your results during the appointment.
Results
You should receive your results within 3-6 weeks after your appointment. For faster results you can use the online portal.
Type of Appointments
Route Digital Surveillance, you will be invited to this screening check to detect any early signs of retinopathy (Diabetic eye disease).
Slit Lamp Biomicroscopy, you will be invited to this screening as we were unable to capture images, or the quality of images were poor. We will use a specialist piece of equipment to examine your eyes; you may have to attend at a different location than usual.
Optical Coherence Tomography, you will be invited to this appointment as we have found some changes in your recent eye screening results, therefore we will use a specialised piece of equipment to gather a more in-depth scan of your eyes; you may have to travel to a different location than usual.
Important reminders for your appointment
You cannot drive
You cannot drive after your appointment. The drops given at the appointment will make your vision blurry, which is unsafe to drive and may invalidate your license. For more information, visit your local programme page for transport links and clinic location information.
Bring your glasses
Please bring your current distance glasses, we will need these to understand your best possible vision. We also recommend you bring a pair of sunglasses; these will help with the side effects of the drops.
Additional support
If you require additional assistance or live with a physical or learning disability, please contact us before your appointment to ensure we can provide the suitable support.
Your diabetes details
We will need to know your diabetes treatment details, such as the medication you are taking and your levels of diabetes control.
Your eye health
We will need to know details of any existing eye conditions and treatments you’ve had/are having.
Bring somebody
You can bring somebody with you to the appointment, to keep you company and assist you with any side effects to the eye drops.
Pregnancy
If you are pregnant and live with diabetes, you will need to be screened more often. You will be invited soon after your first antenatal clinic visit.
Not attending
Please remember to attend your appointment, if you are unable to attend on the day, please contact us to cancel or change your appointment. Not attending removes somebody else’s chance of an appointment.
About the eye drops
About the eye drops
The drops used at your diabetic eye screening appointment are 1% Tropicamide, we use these drops to dilate your pupils, which allows us to get clear images of the back of your eyes. It is extremely rare, but if you have experienced an allergic reaction to these drops before, please contact us before your appointment. The drops may sting for a couple minutes once they have been inserted, however this is normal, to reduce the stinging sensation we recommend you use hydration drops before.
It is extremely important to remember you cannot drive after these drops have been administered, until the effects have worn off.
