GP phoneand emailenquiries!

We are currently working on a dedicated priority phone line for GPs who want to make non-urgent enquiries to our Outpatient Booking Unit and will notify you when this becomes available. Alternately, you can use the “Make an enquiry” form at eyeandear.org.au/page/Contact_Us/General_Contact/ or . This service is answered by our Outpatient Booking Unit staff and is best utilised if you have enquiries relating to referrals, outpatient appointments and waiting lists, we aim to respond to all enquires with in 48 hours.

For all urgentclinical advice, please continue to call our switchboard on 9929 8666 and ask to speak with our Eye or ENT Admitting Officer on duty.

You may request further or formal information relating to patients’ attendance at the Eye and Ear, by sending a written request on your clinic letterhead, via fax to 9929 8404. Please note,if you are not the referring doctor, your request will need to be accompanied by the written consent of the patient. An “Authority for Release of Details from a Patient’s Medical File” form can be downloaded at eyeandear.org.au under “For GPs and Referrers”, Clinical Resources page.

Have you seen our website lately?

At the end of 2011, the Eye and Ear launched a new website, which features a GP section and information about referring to our services. New and updated resources are being added over time. These include our pre-referral guidelines, information about our clinics and useful contacts and phone numbers in our "Quick Reference Guide". You can also access practical clinical resources, such as the "Golden Eye Rules" and links to other eye and ENT services, and find out about our upcoming GP education events. Visit today at eyeandear.org.au;click the “Health Professionals” tab, then “For GPs and other referrers”.

Pre-referral Guidelines - New!!

Our pre-referral guidelines have been developed to assist GPs to streamline referrals and identify which patients to refer and when. They cover frequently referred conditions, to support GPs to ‘workup’ certain conditions or to manage them in the community and outline the type of information required to triage them appropriately. Conditions include cataract, dry eye, blepharitis and diabetic eye disease. Click on the“Pre-referral Guidelines”, from the “For GPs and other referrers” page.

GP Education

Evening Education for GPs.
The next GP education session will be on Dizziness/vertigo & Common Eyelid Disorders. It will be held onTuesday 16 October, 7-9pm, in the Lucy Jones Hall, 426Albert Street, East Melbourne. See our flyer for more information and register online atgpv.org.au/event.asp

If you would like to receive information about our evening education sessions, please email

Online training
An online eye education module has been developed by a collaborative effort between the Eye and Ear and Vision 2020, as part of the Vision Initiative. It is accredited with the RACGP (4 points), ACRRM (2 points) and RCNA (2 points). It is free for GPs and health professionals (you will need to register with the ThinkGP website) and can be accessed via a link from our website.

Optometry–Ophthalmology Workforce Collaboration Project

An audit of our referrals in September 2010, identified that 30% of eye referrals from general practitioners (GPs) could potentially be seen elsewhere in the community (i.e. not necessarily requiring tertiary specialist services). The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital and the Australian College of Optometry (ACO) are the main providers of public eye care in Victoria. In 2011 and 2012, the Eye and Ear and ACO conducted a pilot project to investigate the feasibility of a combined ophthalmology and optometry clinic at the ACO in Carlton. Patients referred to the hospital by GPs, with no clear diagnosis, were offered an appointment and triaged in the combined clinic. The aim of the clinic was to evaluate an alternative pathway for the provision of eye care in Victoria - a pathway that would address the increasing demand for services in a timely manner.

During the period of the clinic, the waiting time for a general eye clinic appointment at the Eye and Ear reduced by 12 weeks, indicating improved access to services. The project has been considered successful in triaging GP referrals, in that, of the 686 patients seen in the clinic, only 28% needing to be referred to the hospital for further care and these were referred directly to either a general or an appropriate specialist clinic, resulting in faster care.

Of the remaining patients, 55% required ongoing optometry review at the ACO, while the remainder were discharged and required no immediate follow up, suggesting that 72% of patients referred by GPs with no specific diagnosis can be effectively and appropriately managed by community optometry providers, such as the ACO. Follow up of the clinical outcomes revealed no adverse outcomes or clinical risks.

Patient satisfaction of the care received was very high with comments from patients including ‘I was impressed as I have had a lot to do with the public system and this was the best public experience I have had to date’ and ‘Very caring with individual attention. Great service’

This project highlights the importance of optometry and ophthalmology working together in providing care to patients with non-specific diagnoses and the role optometry can play in providing high levels of clinical care and improved access to appointments. Given the success of this pilot clinic, the Eye and Ear and ACO are currently working together to create an ongoing joint clinic modelled on the pilot project and plan to have it up and running before the end of this year.

For further information on the project, please feel free to contact Dr Lina Nido or ACO (9349 7400). The ACO is happy to receive referrals for eligible patients and more information on the services available can be found at aco.org.au

Construction Works in our Emergency Department

The hospital has been investigating the expansion of the Emergency Department for some time to provide more space to improve our patient throughput. We now have confirmation that this work is due to commence in the week starting 8 October 2012. We aim to have the work completed by mid-December in time for Christmas Clinics. This is an interim expansion, with the hospital plans for the major redevelopment works still in progress, which would see a completely new, purpose built ED. Business will continue as usual, we do notexpect any reduction in service delivery. There will be some disruption and noise, with slightly reduced waiting areas for up to three weeks while the waiting space is redesigned. Most of the noisy work and removal of building materials is planned for overnight after midnight.Posters and signs will direct patients as required to ensure they are kept informed.