UK Keratoconus Self-Help and Support Association

Hi!

After years of struggling with glasses I am going to get a hospital appointment to be fitted with rigid lenses. My GP can send me to the local Opthalmology dept at York Hospital, but I'm worried about whether I should go to a specialist hospital or consultant, with more experience in fitting rigid lenses for KC. Can anyone advise me please?

Many thanks!

Hi David

Welcome to the Forum !

I'm in two minds about this one. While it is probably better to go to an eye unit which has a large throughput of patients with Keratoconus -- because fitting lenses for irregular corneas requires a lot of skill which can probably only really be gained through extensive real-world experience -- there's other factors to consider too.

What you might find is that you have to go to the optometrist in the hospital quite often -- maybe three or four times a year, sometimes more than that. If you go to a large regional specialist centre that's an hour or two's travelling each way that can quickly become a nuisance. And it's more of an issue if you're unlucky enough to have a problem and need to get there quickly.

So I'd come down on the side of going local initially, find out what the service is like and if you're happy then there's no reason to look elsewhere. But keep an open mind and if you think that the team there aren't able to give you the care you need, be prepared to ask to be referred to a larger centre further away.

Best wishes

Chris