Ophthalmology (eye diseases and disorders) at Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick

Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick (SCH) ophthalmology department, commonly known as The Lion’s Eye Clinic for Children operates alongside the Prince of Wales Hospital and the Royal Hospital for Women.

The Ophthalmology service provides comprehensive tertiary and secondary care and treatment for all aspects of paediatric ophthalmology, including:

• General ophthalmology
• Amblyopia and strabismus
• Screening of genetic conditions
• Craniofacial conditions
• Retinopathy of prematurity
• Oculoplastic, Medical retina and Corneal subspecialty clinics
• Electroretinography (ERG), Visual evoked responses (VER) and dark adaptation (EDG)
• Emergency department/inpatient reviews
• Statewide Preschooler Eyesight Screening (StEPS) program clinic

Eye Clinic

The Lions Eye Clinic for Children provides an outpatient eye service, operating four to five consultant clinics weekly, electrophysiology five days a week and regular Orthoptic clinics. The Eye Clinic also provides State-wide EyeSight Preschooler Screening (StEPS) clinic for South Eastern Sydney Local Health District.

Assessment may involve seeing orthoptists, orthoptic students, medical students, registrars, fellows and consultant ophthalmologists.

All new patients will require eye drops for pupil dilation to allow accurate refraction (measuring the need for glasses) and fundus examination (examining the internal structures of the eye).

Directions

The Eye Clinic operates from the Outpatients Department.

Enter via the main entrance on High Street and walk past Sunny's Cafe on your left. Continue along the corridor and the Outpatients Department is on your right.

See our Welcome pack with detailed maps. The Outpatients Department is marked on page 4 of this document.

Orthoptic Department

The Orthoptic department works closely with the Ophthalmology department, and together these two departments form the Eye Clinic. The Orthoptic department conducts dedicated Orthoptic clinics as well as servicing all ophthalmology clinics.

The Orthoptic department offers comprehensive assessment of visual acuity, visual fields, colour vision, strabismus, eye movements and binocular function, as well as ongoing Orthoptic care to children with amblyopia and strabismus. Specialised testing including fundus photography, optic nerve function tests are performed as well as paediatric contact lens instruction teaching sessions.

At the appointment

A full eye clinic appointment can be expected to take between 1-2 hours even when things are running to time.

• Please bring your child’s prescription glasses, Medicare card, and blue book to all Eye Clinic appointments.
• We suggest bringing snacks and activities to keep your child entertained while in the waiting room.
• You can also take your child for a walk between seeing the orthoptist and ophthalmologist if there is a long wait expected between these parts of the appointment.
• If your child requires pupil dilation, it can be a good idea to bring sunglasses and/or a wide brim hat for sun protection after the appointment.
• There is changing facilities, amenities and a cafeteria available on site.

Referrals

New patient referrals are assessed by the Orthoptic team against the eligibility guidelines and are allocated an appointment based on urgency.

All referrals must include full contact details for the patient, their parent/carer, the referrer and detailed information on any eye conditions and relevant general health or family history. Referrals with insufficient information will not be accepted.

You can send us an e-referral securely via Consultmed or email your referral to schn-schoutpatientseyeclinic@health.nsw.gov.au

Eligibility guidelines

1. Reason for referral: Due to the demand for our service, appointments within the Eye Clinic at SCH Randwick are primarily reserved for eye conditions that are deemed to be life or sight-threatening. Referrals for reasons not deemed to be at a tertiary level may not be allocated an appointment within our service.
2. Patient’s age: New patients who would not be eligible for an appointment until after their 16th birthday should be referred to an adult ophthalmology service (some exemptions are made for up to 18-year-olds with complex needs).

Catchment area

Tertiary referrals are accepted for all children living in NSW.
Secondary referrals (e.g. lazy eyes and crossed eyes) should be referred firstly to the local area health service unless the patient lives within the Sydney Children’s Hospital catchment area.

Urgent referrals

Contact the ophthalmology registrar on call via the hospital switchboard (02) 9382 1111

Staff

• Dr Kimberly Tan, Head of Department: General Paediatric Ophthalmology, Neurophthalmology, Paediatric Cataract and Glaucoma
• Dr Hughie Tsang: General Paediatric Ophthalmology, Paediatric Cataract and Glaucoma
• Dr Matthew Spargo: General Paediatric Ophthalmology, Strabismus, Cataract and Glaucoma
• Dr Parth Shah: General Paediatric Ophthalmology, Paediatric Cataract, Congenital Corneal Opacities, Genetic Eye Diseases
• Dr Elias Kehdi: General Paediatric Ophthalmology, Paediatric Glaucoma and Cataract
• Dr Harry Leung: General Paediatric Ophthalmology, Statewide Eyesight Preschooler Screening Clinic
• Prof Stephanie Watson: Corneal Specialist
• Dr Geoffrey Wilcsek: Oculoplastic Specialist