Ophthalmology

The word Ophthalmology has its origins in Ancient Greece  and literally means “the science of the eyes”.

This department deals with diseases and surgery of the eyes and provides a full range of general ophthalmic services from the Walton Hospital site.

It is a lively and busy department providing a largely out-patient and day case services at the Walton site with in-patient beds at the Fazakerley site.

It is based in what was the former Casualty Department in Walton. It has beds on the Day Surgical Unit (A) and a dedicated Ophthalmic Theatre. There is a suite for ophthalmic services in the accident and emergency department in University Hospital Aintree with 24 hour cover provided by the staff of the ophthalmic department.

There is close co-operation between the ophthalmic staff and the Accident and Emergency staff. During the day Casualty patients are reviewed in the Walton site by an Accident and Emergency clinic run by junior doctors. The department has been equipped to a very high standard with appropriate technology for modern eye surgery.  

We have also devloped clinics to assess people to make sure their general health is good enough before they are given an appointment for surgery.

Almost all of our patients are treated as day cases. We have three dedicated Nurse Practitioners to review the progress of cataract patients after surgery.    

We have five consultants who each specialise in a variety of areas of ophthalmology and one of the Consultants provides ophthalmic services at the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery.  

Working alongside the consultants, we have eight doctors of various grades.  

The Department of Optometry.

This department is made up of staff that are professionally trained to examine the eyes for refractive defects and prescribe corrective treatments.  

It comprises a Principal Optometrist with two assistants.   Specialist clinics are run in low vision aid, provision of contact lenses, diabetic retinopathy screening, glaucoma assessment and routine refraction of patients under the care of the hospital service.  

The Department of Ophthalmic Photography

This department has grown substantially over the last few years and provides a state of the art angiography service for diagnosing medical retinal conditions. The department also carries out screening for diabetic eye disease at the Walton site and the Litherland Lift Centre. The department also has the latest Optical Coherence Tomography eye scanner, capable of producing high resolution detailed scans of the retina.

For more information on the Ophthalmology directorate, contact Brigid Doyle on 0151 529 4269.

General Ophthalmology Enquiries 0151 529 4764

Ophthalmology Eye Clinc Appointments 0151 529 4280.