Lions Low Vision Clinic
Outpatients
The Lions Low Vision Clinic is a unit within the Royal Hobart Hospital Eye Clinic, specialising in helping people with poor vision make the best use of their remaining sight.
The Department will periodically contact patients waiting for an outpatient clinic appointment via SMS, with a link to an electronic form. This is part of routine waitlist auditing to ensure patient details are up to date. If you receive this SMS, please update your details.
Availability
North
All referrals and queries are to be directed to:
Phone: 03 6166 0000
Fax: 03 6234 9454
North West
All referrals and queries are to be directed to:
Phone: 03 6166 0000
Fax: 03 6234 9454
South
All referrals and queries are to be directed to:
Phone: 03 6166 0000
Fax: 03 6234 9454
Wellington Clinics (Level 11)
RHH Outpatient Eye Clinic
Emergency conditions
This is a non-urgent clinic.
The Low Vision Clinic does not diagnose or treat eye disease. If a person has experienced a sudden change in their vision, we advise that they contact their local optometrist, ophthalmologist, GP or emergency department.
Emergency care
If you, or someone else, are experiencing a serious and life-threatening injury or illness call triple zero (000) immediately or go to the nearest Emergency Department.
Learn more about when to access emergency care and non-emergency care options if the injury or illness is not serious or life-threatening.
Scope
Low vision is defined as permanent vision loss that cannot be corrected with glasses, contact lenses or medical treatments. It can affect all aspects of daily life. It may involve a loss of sharpness of vision but may also involve reduced field of vision, impaired low contrast vision, distorted vision, or increased glare sensitivity.
The Low Vision Clinic has a wide range of high quality optical and electronic magnifiers for demonstration. We discuss how the patients vision impairment is impacting their daily life at home, work, or school and provide advice regarding low vision equipment (eg: lighting, magnifiers) or practical strategies to compensate for and cope with their vision loss.
Many patients also benefit from services from other blindness / low vision organisations such as VisAbility Tasmania, Blind Focus, or Vision Australia. The Low Vision Clinic may refer a patient to one of these service providers for Occupational Therapy, Orientation and Mobility, Assistive Technology, audio book library services, or counselling.
The Low Vision Clinic does not conduct home visits or sell equipment. Patients who receive assistance from My Aged Care or the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) may be able to access funding for low vision aids prescribed by the clinic.
Referral process
Patients require a referral from their optometrist, ophthalmologist, GP or other health professional. School age children may also be referred by the Department of Education Vision Services team or support/teaching staff if they attend private or Catholic schools.
Referral should include
- Eye Condition/s
- Visual acuity and other relevant tests if available (eg: visual field analyses).
- Refraction information if available.
- Other relevant conditions such as diabetes, stroke, dementia, hearing loss, intellectual impairment or other disabilities.
- Information about functional issues due to their low vision, such as difficulty:
- Reading
- Using appliances in the kitchen
- Preparation of meals or pouring drinks
- Shopping
- Using a desktop/tablet computer or mobile phone
- Getting around (orientation to familiar/unfamiliar areas, managing steps, uneven ground, or road crossing).
- Managing medications
- Glare sensitivity
- Seeing the television
- Seeing faces
- With art, craft, sports, or other hobbies
- Driving
Appointments
Patients are assessed by an optometrist and allied health professional who have extensive expertise in low vision.
One hour is allocated for appointments, allowing time for educating the patient about their eye condition, discussing their functional vision difficulties, demonstrating aids, and providing information about where to purchase them. Information and onward referral may also be provided to other services. Patients are welcome to attend with a family member, carer or support worker.
All services are outpatient and are bulk billed to Medicare.
Enquiries
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 6166 0000 (option 3, eye clinic)
Where available, eReferral via HealthLink smart forms is now the preferred and only secure method of referral to the Tasmanian Department of Health.
Additional information
For more information please see the Tasmanian HealthPathways website.