Gloucestershire Primary Care Trust will roll out a county-wide glaucoma referral scheme by the end of the year.

The PCT is currently approaching optometrists within its area and offering them the opportunity to become an accredited practitioner for the new referral process.

The decision to expand the scheme across the county follows results from a pilot study carried out in Gloucestershire’s Forest of Dean area that showed a ‘significant’ improvement in the detection of glaucoma in patients seeing community optometrists. The study reported an increase in referrals for patients who tested positive for glaucoma, as well as a reduction in the number of patients who received an initial false-positive result.

Dr Tony Walsh, chair of the PCT’s professional executive committee, said: “Using specially trained and accredited community optometrists can remove the need for patients to visit their GP for approval or assessment for onward referral. We have a locally proven approach which will be a real difference to patients. Optometry can help with the early detection of glaucoma so we can help prevent people going blind or partially sighted later in life.”

The scheme will see optometrists carry out additional ocular examinations on patients that, prior to the scheme, would have been referred directly to the Hospital Eye Service.  The examinations will be repeated on two separate occasions to ensure that the diagnosis is correct and patients that require additional treatment will then be referred.

Lisa Collins, head of optometry at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust commented: “This scheme will transform glaucoma detection across the county.”

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