What this service does
The team in this service offers a full range of treatments for children’s eye conditions, both in our dedicated children’s centre and in community locations.
Our children's service covers all major types of eye condition. These include squints (strabismus) and lazy eye (ambloyopia), refractive errors, problems with the eye socket, tear glands and lids, anophthalmia and microphthalmia (for children born without eyes or with very small eyes), cataracts, external and corneal diseases, genetic conditions, glaucoma, retinal disorders, and inflammatory eye conditions (uveitis).
Our team includes consultant ophthalmologists (eye doctors) and paediatricians (children's doctors), nurses, orthoptists and optometrists, as well as family support workers and play specialists.
Up to the age of 16, children are cared for in our hospital within a hospital – the Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Centre. This is a purpose-built facility connected to our main hospital in City Road in central London. It houses outpatient consulting rooms, a day-care ward and a children’s A&E department (weekdays, 9am to 4pm only). We also provide children's services in several of our satellite locations. Click on the links to the right for a full list.
Your visit to the Richard Desmond Children's Eye Centre
video transcript
Welcome to the Children's Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital.
When you arrive for your appointment, you will be checked in at the reception desk before being called through to have your eyes checked. Our reception is friendly and you can play there whilst you wait.
When we are ready, we will call you and your parents, or carers, through and we will check your eyes and what you can see.
This is the nurse and she will check your vision. You might wear some special glasses or a patch over your own glasses while we do this. You might read, match or look at some letters, numbers or pictures. This can be a really fun game to play.It's okay if you can't see them, just tell the person who's checking your eyes. You might also play a matching game by pointing to the same pictures on a card.
Not everybody needs this test, but sometimes we might need to measure the pressure inside your eyes with a special handheld machine. It is very quick and you won't feel anything at all. You just need to try and keep your eyes nice and still.
This is the orthoptist. She can check how well your eyes work together. The orthoptist might also check how your eyes move. We will use a light to have a look at your eyes. Don't worry, it won't be too bright.
We sometimes need to put drops into your eyes. They are a bit fizzy and may sting a little, but they are safe. They will make your vision a bit blurry for a while. You might find things a bit bright and need sunglasses or a hat to go home in if it's a sunny day. The drops take quite a bit of time to work. While they are working, you can go back and play in the waiting area.
This is the play specialist. She can show you all the fun toys we have. When your eyes are ready we will look at them and check if you might need glasses.
This is the optometrist. You might wear some special glasses and we will put in or hold some small lenses in front of your eyes. We can tell just by looking. We will also check that your eyes are healthy. We may wear a special hat with a light inside to help us look inside your eyes. We will hold up a big lens in front of your eye to do this. It might be the doctor that needs to see you for this part of your visit. So you may need to wait and play for a bit longer after having your glasses test. Sometimes we might need to use a special machine to look more closely at the front of your eyes.
This is the doctor. He looks through the machine to see your eyes. It is just a light and you can kneel up and hold onto the handlebars. Sometimes you might also need to have some special photographs or measurements taken of your eyes. These are done on another special machine. It is just a quick flash, like having a normal photo taken.
This is the photographer. She is taking the photos. Smile.
If you do need some glasses, you can try some on and choose a pair in our opticians. We have lots of cool frames to choose from.
Well done. That's it. Now you've had your eyes checked, you can go home. We may ask you to come in again soon so we can check how you're getting on.
How do I make an appointment with this service?
You should see your GP or optician in the first instance. If he or she decides that your eye condition needs to be investigated by more specialist staff, they will arrange for you to have an outpatient appointment with Moorfields or another eye-care provider. If you choose to be treated at Moorfields, we will send you a letter confirming the date, time and location of your appointment with us.
If a child is born with either anophthalmia (no eye/eyes) or microphthalmia (small eyes), the eye socket needs to be expanded to ensure that there is no residual orbital imbalance and to stimulate natural orbital and soft tissue development. This is achieved by various means over a period of days and weeks, depending on the individual case, to a point where a cosmetic prosthesis can be provided. This process needs repeating frequently to match the growth and stimulate socket expansion. Our ocularists and surgical team have a great deal of experience and expertise in these more difficult cases.
Other useful contacts
You should see your GP or optician in the first instance. If he or she decides that your eye condition needs to be investigated by more specialist staff, they will arrange for you to have an outpatient appointment with Moorfields or another eye-care provider. If you choose to be treated at Moorfields, we will send you a letter confirming the date, time and location of your appointment with us.
If a child is born with either anophthalmia (no eye/eyes) or microphthalmia (small eyes), the eye socket needs to be expanded to ensure that there is no residual orbital imbalance and to stimulate natural orbital and soft tissue development. This is achieved by various means over a period of days and weeks, depending on the individual case, to a point where a cosmetic prosthesis can be provided. This process needs repeating frequently to match the growth and stimulate socket expansion. Our ocularists and surgical team have a great deal of experience and expertise in these more difficult cases.