Information For Patients

NHS Cataract Treatment In Your Local Specialist Clinic

Under “Patient Choice” you can choose to have your eye care with us at ACES. You can be referred directly by your GP or Optometrist, or you can request to be seen by us if your referral is channelled through a Referral Management Centre.

How do I get an appointment with ACES?

Before we can offer you an appointment with ACES, we must receive a referral from your GP, optician, or Referral Management Centre.

It is your legal right to have the choice when it comes to your treatment, if you are having difficulty being referred to ACES please contact your ICB (Integrated Care Board).

Find your local integrated care board (ICB) – NHS (www.nhs.uk)

Referral

Once we have received a referral, we will contact you once we have an appointment available to offer you. Our booking coordinator will arrange an appointment at a time, date and location convenient for you, and will send a letter to confirm the details.

There is no walk-in service available at ACES and we are not able to see patients who refer themselves.

Why choose ACES for your cataract operation?

Short waiting times
Fast track cataract surgery
No hospital stay required
Expert Ophthalmic Surgeons
Excellent clinical outcomes
No junior surgeons in training
Modern, state of the art, equipment
Choice of location, time and date to suit you

What if I’m not offered a choice?

At the point of referral all patients should be offered a choice and the opportunity to discuss all options for treatment. If you have not been offered a choice, in the first instance you should speak to the person referring you.

If you still feel that you have not been offered all suitable choices, you can contact your local ICB who will be able to assist you and offer you full details of local services.

According to the NHS website, in the near future, NHS England wants all patients to be able to say:

I have discussed with my GP or healthcare professional the different options available to me, including the pros and cons and, where appropriate, whether to choose to not have treatment.
I was offered appropriate choices of where to go for my care or tests.
I was given an opportunity to choose a suitable alternative provider because I was going to wait longer than the maximum waiting time specified in my legal rights.
Information to help me make decisions was available and I knew where to find it in a format that was accessible to me.
I was given sufficient time to consider what was right for me.

Full details of your NHS rights and choices can be found here: Your choices in the NHS – NHS (www.nhs.uk)