With the lockdown currently in place and the need for social distancing, a number of businesses have closed their doors to the public or have placed restrictions on the kinds of services and facilities that can be offered. Optometry services are still available during the pandemic, but restrictions apply to the kinds of services that are available. These restrictions are in place to protect your health and that of the optometrist and their team by restricting anything that can cause aerosols or isn’t deemed to be urgent.
Eye Tests
Most optometrists have suspended regular eye testing for the time being or are triaging appointments to see if any non-urgent matters can be deferred until after restrictions ease. There are some general exceptions to the suspension, so if you fit into any of the following categories you should be able to get an eye test:
- You are an essential worker in need of a test or a new prescription
- You have lost or broken your glasses, the loss of which severely impacts your ability to function properly
Triage
When booking an appointment for an optometrist at the moment, the practice will most likely triage your case to determine the level of care you need. If you need eye care, it’s better to book an appointment now and have a professional judge whether you need to attend in person, via telehealth or if the appointment can be deferred than to put it off until things return to “normal”.
RANZCO (the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists) has established a set of triaging guidelines for Australian and NZ eye health professionals and breaks down the categories of need into high urgency, medium urgency and low urgency.
High urgency care refers to serious eye injury or foreign bodies in the eyes, new or worsening eye disease and some vision repair surgeries. High urgency care requires a face to face appointment.
Medium urgency care includes minor eye injuries or foreign bodies in the eyes, some eye diseases, infections and changes in vision. Some medium urgency care requires a face to face appointment, while other appointments can be conducted via telehealth .
Low urgency care includes eye tests (aside from essential workers) and basic eye conditions like some conjunctivitis, dry eyes or wet eye. RANZCO recommends that anything deemed low urgency care be deferred or scheduled over a telehealth solution.
If you’re worried about your eyes, book an appointment to see an optometrist at MyHealth1st.
Repairs/Sales
While a number of optometrists are closed to retail trade at the moment, you can still get repairs done for glasses if need be. Check with your local optometrist as to whether they are offering repairs.
Whilst many practices offer online stores to help out with buying new new contact lenses or browsing frames, we suggest booking an appointment with your local optometrist to discuss your needs with them.
Of course these conditions and restrictions can and will likely change in the near future. Your local optometrist will be up to date on what can and can’t be done, so they should be the first place to call.
If you need to search for and book optometry appointments online, the fastest and easiest way is at MyHealth1st.com.au