If you have a severe eye injury, including chemical splash injuries, please go straight to the Leicester Royal Infirmary Emergency Department.
Eye Casualty is a specialist department for patients with eye emergencies only. Waiting times can vary depending on clinical priority and the number of patients in the department & can be up to 4 hours or longer.
Eye casualty is not a 'walk-in' clinic, so if you do not have an eye emergency we will advise you to see your GP or optician.
Eye Casualty is not for the following.
- Second opinions: please speak to your GP
- Repeat prescriptions: please speak to your GP
- Non-urgent problems such as dry eye, itchy eye or hay fever: please see a pharmacist or your optician first.
- Cataract: please see your own optician, who will to refer you to our outpatient service
If you are a patient in the eye department and have questions or a problem regarding your eye clinic appointments, please contact your consultant's secretary, as the Eye Casualty department will not be able to expedite your appointment.
If you are advised to attend Eye Casualty, please do not drive yourself - you may need pupil-dilating drops which prevent driving for up to four hours. Bring any spectacles you wear and a list of your prescribed medication & any eye drops or eye ointments you are using.
We are open from 8:30-16:30 Monday to Friday and 8:30-12:30 on weekends and bank holidays. We are not open on Christmas Day. Should you require emergency attention outside of Eye Casualty opening hours, please attend main ED where you may be seen by one of our on-call doctors if needed.
You can find accessibility information for the Eye Clinic here.
Eye Casualty Department
The Eye Casualty is a service which offers treatment for emergency eye problems only. Problems such as eye injuries, red painful eyes, and sudden loss of vision are seen here.
If you need to speak to someone in eye casualty department regarding any treatment they commenced, please call 0116 258 6273.
Meet the team
Our team is made up of doctors, nurses, optometrists & health care assistants.
We see 60-80 patients per day on average, but due to the fact that we are an emergency department the volume of patients can be unpredictable. The average waiting time in the department is between 2 to 4 hours. As we are an emergency service, patients are seen in priority of clinical need, and degree of urgency.
What happens in Eye Casualty?
Once you have been triaged to decide if you have an eye emergency, you will be booked to see a member of the nursing team for an initial vision and eye pressure check & then to see our qualified nurse for detailed assessment. Depending upon the nature of the problem the nurse may treat and advise you, or you may have to wait longer to see the eye doctor.
Various investigations may need to be carried out and you may meet other staff such as visual field technicians, photographers, and orthoptists. You may need eye drops to dilate your eyes which will cause blurred vision for several hours, so please DO NOT drive to the eye casualty department.
As with any hospital appointment, you should have a list of any medication you take and allergies you may have. In addition it may be helpful if you bring your current glasses or your latest opticians report.
Where is the Eye Casualty Department?
Windsor Eye Clinic
Windsor Building Level 1
Leicester Royal Infirmary
LE1 5WW
What is eye casualty’s phone number?
0116 258 6273
What are eye casualty’s opening hours?
Monday to Friday - 08:30 to 16:30
Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays - 8:30 to 12:30
Outside these times emergency patients can attend the main Accident and Emergency Department, and will be referred to the on-call eye team if necessary or you can call NHS 111 service first.
