Shropshire woman’s retinal tear diagnosed over the phone by optician

Patricia Finch, a mother-of-two from Shrewsbury, was experiencing flashes of light when she closed her eyes, as well as a progressive clouding of her vision.

But the 51-year-old was reluctant to put pressure on hospitals due to the Covid-19 situation, so instead contacted Ellerker Opticians, an independent practice on Mardol in Shrewsbury.

The practice, which is not Patricia’s regular opticians, has suspended routine testing due to the pandemic but is conducting emergency and essential eye care remotely to those in need, in line with government guidelines.

Answering the phone was Ellerker’s optometrist Iain Milne who, after Patricia described her symptoms, triaged that she had a retina tear and contacted the eye department at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Specialists there confirmed Iain’s assessment and Patricia had an operation to repair her eye on the same day as she rang the practice.

If Patricia hadn’t contacted Ellerker that day, there was a chance she could have lost her sight in that eye due to the extent of the retinal tear.

Patricia said: “I’d never heard of retinal detachment and I had no idea what it meant, so I innocently wandered down to the hospital after the phone call completely unaware that, about two hours later, I’d be sat in day surgery awaiting an emergency operation.

“I think I was in a bit of shock and, at the time, I didn’t realise how serious it was. But once they saw me the surgical team at the hospital were adamant that my eye had to be operated on that day.”

After a week of resting, which involved laying down flat for most of the week on doctors’ advice, Patricia is now on the road to recovery and is extremely thankful for Iain’s quick response.

She added: “I just can’t put into words how brilliant the service was from Ellerker, especially as they are not my normal opticians, but they definitely will be now and in the future.

“If I hadn’t had that discussion with Iain and he didn’t make that judgment over the phone, I probably would have lost my vision in that eye, so this service that they provided was absolutely critical.

“I cannot praise or thank Iain enough, he has even rang me a couple of times to check how I’ve been getting on. I realise now how important it is that opticians stay open for emergency care as it could have been so much worse.”

This was not the only time that Iain has referred someone over the phone; a day earlier he triaged a sight-threatening corneal ulcer on a patient over the phone, which also required emergency treatment.

Iain said: “These cases show how important it is that optical practices stay open for emergency and essential care during this uncertain period.

“We’re here to ease the pressure on the NHS as people who ring for advice could possibly have gone to A&E and used up time and space.

“A retinal tear is probably the most common emergency problem that we would see in practice. Our message would therefore be there is any issues with your vision, then there will always be someone to speak to at Ellerker Opticians.

“In normal circumstances this is something we can spot during a patient’s routine eye exam, so once normality has resumed, we’d recommend an eye test for all patients every two years to help maintain your eye health.”

Anyone experiencing problems with their eyes or wanting to know how Ellerker Opticians can help, can call 01743 344455.