Coronavirus, COVID-19, advice

This page will have our latest information on the care we can provide during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can also find information on our Facebook page.

LATEST UPDATE 9:00pm, Monday 29 June:

Reopening the practice

We are pleased to let you know that from today, we are open, albeit in a limited capacity. We have outlined our phased approach below. During this Phase 2, we are open for emergency and essential eye care only.

Emergency and essential eye care from 29 June 

In this phase, we will be able to see patients who fall into one of the following categories:

1. Patients we have treated remotely over the past three months to review your condition.

2. Patients we consider to be emergencies, such as those who experience a change to their vision or have a specific issue that we feel requires urgent investigation.

3. Patients who would not normally be considered to be emergencies, but where, in our view, a delay in an examination may be detrimental to your sight or wellbeing (called ‘essential care’).

4. Patients who were due to be seen in the last three months for a review of a specific issue (not a routine check up) and where in our view review is ‘essential’.

5. Patients with any other issues classed as an ‘essential situation’. This might include where you have lost or broken your glasses or contact lenses and require a replacement to function.

Many of these patients will have been already contacted and booked in. If we haven’t contacted you already to make an appointment but you feel you fall into one of these categories, please call or email us, and we can advise whether we are able to see you. In addition, if you have any new concerns and think you would benefit from being seen, please get in touch. You can email us on vision@cameronoptom.com or phone us on 0131 225 2235.

These appointments will not be comprehensive check ups. Instead we will focus on the specific issue which has resulted in you being classed as an ’emergency’ or requiring ‘essential’ care.

Priority for NHS & key workers

We will do everything we can to support NHS & key workers who continue to work under great strain, so if you’re in this category, make sure you tell us so we can make it as easy as possible for you to carry on doing your vital work.

Dispensing of glasses

We are still able to fix and replace glasses if required. If you have damaged glasses or require a new pair for another reason, please get in touch and we arrange for them to be fixed or replaced. You can select new frames via video call and we can arrange for those to be made up (assuming we have your latest prescription) and sent out to you. We also have a new range of sunglasses which can be posted out.

Resumption of routine appointments (date TBC) 

Assuming this Phase 2 is successful, we anticipate that we will be permitted to resume seeing patients for routine appointments, such as annual eye examinations in Phase 3, from the end of July, with the exact date to be confirmed. In the first instance, we will recall those who would have been seen in the period we have been closed. After we have caught up with these patients, we will then begin to recall patients as usual.

We expect this will take some time see everyone. Social distancing rules mean we will be unable to open all four consulting rooms immediately so it will take a little longer to catch up on these appointments.

What you can expect when you visit 

We already have incredibly high hygiene standards and we have added additional measures as outlined in guidance received from The Scottish Government. We have outlined these in detail here. Please feel reassured we are taking all the precautions we feel necessary to safeguard our patients and staff. Prior to your visit, we will send you an email with details regarding what you can expect when you visit.

If you are shielding, we have sectioned off our fourth consulting room in our basement for this purpose. There you will be able to enter via a separate door and go straight to the examination room so you will only see your optometrist and will not enter the main body of the practice. Please advise when booking your appointment if you fall into this category.

We appreciate some patients have unique requirements, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you require any further information.

View this video to find out more about the changes you will experience when you visit.

We appreciate the unwavering loyalty of our patients, now more than ever. And we pass on our very best wishes to all our patients at this time and hope to see you back in the practice soon. 

Phone: 0131 225 2235

Email: vision@cameronoptom.com