Ocular Hypertensive Review and Monitoring Service Northern Ireland

Some patients diagnosed with OHT will be treated with daily eye drops to lower the pressure in their eyes. Others will not require treatment but will monitored closely for any signs of change.

Patients will receive a diagnosis of OHT from an Ophthalmologist from the Hospital Glaucoma Clinic. They then may be discharged from the Hospital Services into community eyecare. We will be notified if you choose to attend Faith Donaldson Optometrists and will contact you to arrange an appointment.

Prior to your appointment we will receive a “Clinical Management Plan” from the Hospital which provides us with information about your eye condition, treatments and target IOP. We will then complete a detailed examination of your eyes and if we have any concerns regarding changes from your Management Plan we will contact the Glaucoma Clinic for advice, referring you back to the hospital for assessment if necessary.

Please allow 1 hour for your appointment and bring any glasses that you currently use with you. You will not be able to drive after this appointment for 5-6 hours.

Several checks will be performed by your Optometrist including;

Visual Acuity: How many letters you can read on the chart wearing your distance glasses
IOP: Measurement of the pressure inside your eye.
Pupil Dilation: Expanding the size of your pupils using an eyedrop. This allows us a wider, clearer view inside your eye. The eyedrop will temporarily blur your vision for 5-6 hours and you should not drive or operate heavy machinery in this period – please make necessary alternative arrangements for driving if required.
Volk Examination: Using a special lens which gives us a 3D view into the front chamber and back of your eyes where we can carefully assess your drainage channels and your Optic Nerve for signs of change and/or damage.
Visual Fields: This test will check your peripheral vision for very early signs of damage.
OCT Eye Scan: A deep scan of the front and back of your eyes, to measure your corneal thickness, which can cause elevated IOPs, measure the angle (how open) your drainage channel is, and also accurately map the nerve fibres at your optic disc and across the macula to allow us to pick up any subtle changes over time.

The optometrist will discuss the results of each check and will either seek advice/referral from the hospital or set an appropriate review date for you to return.