Residents in South Lanarkshire who require urgent or emergency eyecare are being urged to contact their optician instead of seeking help from their GP, hospital or local pharmacy.
The plea comes from Optometry Scotland, a non-profit making organisation that represents the views of opticians to the Scottish Parliament.
While the majority of community opticians in Rutherglen and Cambuslang are not open for routine eyecare, in line with direction from the Scottish Government Health Department, they are still available for emergency and essential eyecare whilst minimising Covid-19 infection risk.
Services are still available to key workers or anyone whose wellbeing or sight might be damaged if they have to wait.
David Quigley, chair of Optometry Scotland, said: “Opticians are absolutely still here to help.
“The overriding direction for all eyecare professionals is to follow government guidelines in reducing infection risk, so it’s vital that patients across Lanarkshire, and beyond, contact us directly for eyecare advice during this period, to ease pressure on GPs, pharmacies and the NHS.
“While routine eye examinations are rightly not available at the moment, communities are still being served by opticians, who can be telephoned for general advice on arranging emergency and essential care and attention.
“Opticians in South Lanarkshire, and all over the country, are working together as a network to ensure we can support eyecare in our communities, so if patients need help they should call their own optician first or others near them if directed to do so.
“It’s crucial that we avoid putting additional strain on other primary care services and the NHS at this time, so we want people to know that for eye issues, contact your optician first.”
