• Reference Number: HEY1583/2025
• Departments: Ophthalmology Department
• Last Updated: 31 August 2025

Introduction

This leaflet has been produced to give you general information about Virtual Ophthalmology Clinics at Hull Royal Eye Hospital.

Most of your questions should be answered by this leaflet. It is not intended to replace the discussion between you and the healthcare team but may act as a starting point for discussion. If after reading it you have any concerns or require further explanation, please discuss this with a member of the healthcare team.

What is a Virtual Clinic?

A virtual clinic is a service that replaces or supplements a traditional face-to-face appointment. They allow patients to have the necessary assessments in the eye clinic, which are then subsequently reviewed by our clinicians remotely. This helps the department to see more patients in a timely manner.

What will the Virtual Clinic involve?

If you are invited to attend a virtual clinic, you will be asked to attend the eye clinic as usual.

We commonly will administer drops to your eyes to dilate (enlarge) the pupils, making it easier for us to get the scans we need.

Your vision will be blurred for 4 to 6 hours after the drops are administered. Therefore, we ask that you do not drive to your appointment and kindly arrange an alternative way of travelling home.

A number of assessments may be carried out by an ophthalmic technician. This may include, but are not limited to:

• A vision eye test
• A series of photographs and scans of the back of the eyes

Unlike usual face-to-face appointments, after your assessments are complete, you can go home. An experienced clinician will then review your notes and scans. They will then make a decision about the most appropriate management and contact you with the plan.

Why have I been asked to attend a virtual clinic?

You will only be asked to attend a virtual clinic if your clinician feels this is safe and appropriate for your care. We commonly monitor patients virtually if their eye condition is stable or lower risk, as long as the eye condition is suitable to be monitored without a face-to-face clinical examination.

You will receive the same high-quality care as you usually do in the face-to-face clinic.

Why are Virtual Clinics a good option?

The benefits include:

• A reduction in your waiting time in the eye department, as you will not have to wait to see a clinician after your assessments.
• Cost savings on travel, parking and potential loss of income from work absence.
• Greater flexibility with appointments.
• Improved accessibility for patients, as virtual clinics can sometimes be provided in other community healthcare sites and more remote locations.
• Improved efficiency as greater number of patients can be reviewed in one clinic.

How will I find out the outcome of my Virtual Clinic review?

Your clinician will write to you and to your GP regarding the outcome of your appointment. They will do this within the next few weeks. In some cases, the clinician may contact you by phone.

The outcomes may include:

• Continued monitoring in the Virtual Clinic, for which you will receive a follow up appointment.
• You may be discharged, if appropriate.
• You may receive an invitation to a face-to-face consultation for your next appointment. This may be because the scans taken during your appointment did not provide the information we needed, or a clinical examination is required.
• You may be referred for a further test.
• You may be referred for treatment, such as laser, injections, or referred to a different sub-speciality team.
• If we decide that your condition needs urgent attention, we will contact you by phone within a few days.

Do I have to be seen in a Virtual Clinic?

We understand that for some patients, not being seen by a clinician may cause anxiety and stress. Understandably, many patients may find it difficult to cope with the changes to the clinics.

Overall, virtual clinics are well received by our patients. However, if you attend a virtual assessment clinic and your needs are not able to be met, the team will help to arrange further support.

If you would feel that the virtual clinic is not suitable for you, please do let us know. We can arrange a face-to-face consultation for your next visit if required.

General Advice and Consent

Most of your questions should have been answered by this leaflet, but remember that this is only a starting point for discussion with the healthcare team.

Consent to treatment

Before any doctor, nurse or therapist examines or treats you, they must seek your consent or permission. In order to make a decision, you need to have information from health professionals about the treatment or investigation which is being offered to you. You should always ask them more questions if you do not understand or if you want more information.

The information you receive should be about your condition, the alternatives available to you, and whether it carries risks as well as the benefits. What is important is that your consent is genuine or valid. That means:

• you must be able to give your consent
• you must be given enough information to enable you to make a decision
• you must be acting under your own free will and not under the strong influence of another person

Information about you

We collect and use your information to provide you with care and treatment. As part of your care, information about you will be shared between members of a healthcare team, some of whom you may not meet. Your information may also be used to help train staff, to check the quality of our care, to manage and plan the health service, and to help with research. Wherever possible we use anonymous data.

We may pass on relevant information to other health organisations that provide you with care. All information is treated as strictly confidential and is not given to anyone who does not need it. If you have any concerns please ask your doctor, or the person caring for you.

Under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 we are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any information we hold about you. For further information visit the following page: Confidential Information about You.

If you or your carer needs information about your health and wellbeing and about your care and treatment in a different format, such as large print, braille or audio, due to disability, impairment or sensory loss, please advise a member of staff and this can be arranged.