The Wales Eye Care Initiative is intended to detect eye problems in susceptible individuals, enable early assessment of acute eye problems and provide an accessible low vision service. There are four strands to the Welsh Eye Care Initiative:
Wales Eye Health Examination (WEHE) and Primary Eye Care Acute Referral Scheme (PEARS)
The Eye Health Examination is available free of charge and on request to people in specified groups and to others on referral by their general practitioner. The examination is not a sight test and is provided outside the provisions of General Ophthalmic Services which are unaffected by the scheme.
The purpose of PEARS is to address the needs of the patient presenting with an acute eye condition i.e. ocular symptoms which require urgent, if not immediate, attention and to maintain as many patients as possible in primary care by avoiding unnecessary referrals to the Hospital Eye Service (HES).
Welsh Low Vision Service
The Welsh Low Vision Service is provided in optometry practices in primary care by accredited optometrists and accredited dispensing opticians with an ABDO low vision qualification.
Low Vision Assessments and Follow-ups are provided free of charge and on request to people with low vision who have been referred or who self-refer. The assessment is not a sight test and is provided outside the provisions of General Ophthalmic Services which are unaffected by the scheme.
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