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Is it normal to wait weeks for a retinal scan appointment?

Hampshire_Lad

Well-Known Member
Messages
49
Hi,
It is now 3 months since I was initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I then had to wait 5 weeks to see a diabetic nurse who told me that due to my vision becoming blurred I would need an urgent retinal scan - a half hour hospital procedure she said,

That was back on September 12th and I have heard nothing since. I have chased this with my local surgery and they can see the request was made but they have no way of chasing it once it is in the system.

Did any of you guys have to wait so long just for the appointment for your scans to come through on the NHS?

My right eye is now so blurred i'm having problems driving and reading. My optician agrees I need this scan at the hospital and I'm now very worried about my sight
 
Blurred vision can occur because of high blood sugar which causes the lenses in the eyes to swell. I had this, but it does get better if you can reduce your blood glucose levels. Best to get a blood glucose meter to test which foods spike your blood sugar.

You can reduce your blood glucose levels by cutting out sugar and high carb foods such as breakfast cereals, bread, potatoes, rice and pasta. Also avoid fruit juice and fruit such as bananas and grapes.

I had a retinopathy eye test a few months after being diagnosed. It took a few weeks to get the results, which was an all clear. Best not to spend a lot on new prescription glasses until your blood sugars normalise.
 
In my case I waited 6 months at least. That was partly because in spite of me checking with them several times, my GP surgery hadn't registered me with the diabetic eye screening program. They gave me the number so I could check for myself, and that enabled me to register and get the screening. Definitely worth giving your local service a call.
 
Mine was about 2 months after diagnosis. I'd chase it up if I was you just to make sure that you are on a list and there hasn't been an admin error.
 
Chase it up
 
Wow it does seem to be. Post code system , I had my scan within four weeks of being diagnosed
 
I was diagnosed in February, and had my first retinal screening in July. My vision was blurry at diagnosis, but as others have said, getting your sugar levels down and stable will help that sort itself out.
 
My vision was blurry too but it's the start of old age cataracts. I keep hoping that it was caused by high bgl's but it wasn't.
 
I too had blurry vision. But the surgery had forgotten to put in the request so I didnt get a check until I asked. Dx in june and had it 3 weeks ago.

I would definitely chase this up. Vision is precious. If the surgery say its nothing to do with them ask where you can go with a complaint. Start with the surgery manager and work your way up. You dont mean very much to them so dont worry about upsetting anyone. Someone will know how to chase your appointment, but nobody will tell you how to do it unless you do it yourself.

As to the wait, I was told on the phone and then had to wait 4 weeks to see a nurse. Have never spoken to anyone else about it. So nearly 5 months before a retinal scan. I dont think thats unusual.

Good luck with it all. Let us know what happens.
 
The National retinal eye screening service moves about from one area to another. It is likely you have to wait till it arrives in your area. However, I do believe the guidelines are that you should be screened within 3 months of being referred, which may mean travelling a longer distance.
 
I suspect Retinopathy isn't the right diagnostic tool for blurred vision? A Retinopathy appointment can take up to a year to arrive and then it's annual after that and automatic. This screen is mainly look at damage to the retina thru blood vessel damage. Blurred vision is common at diagnosis due to the high blood sugar and will recede from that cause. However, Glaucoma, high blood pressure and so on can cause blurred vision. It may be best to have a 'normal' test at Boots or wherever as it's almost as good as Retinopathy to see if they can explain the blurred vision
 
I had my retinal scan 10 days after diagnosis. I was able to make an appt with my local optician
 

It was several months before I had my scan, but I was abroad for most of those several months, so couldn't have done it earlier anyway.

My surgery has a screening team visit for a few days each year, in May, or we can attend the main hospital several miles away.

If you know which hospital you have been referred to, you could call and chase it up, or ask your GP for a telephone consultation to update him, and he would hopefully have it chased up; especially if your Optometrist voiced concern.
 
In some areas any optician to get you a same day apointment at a NHS eye hopital if they think it is needed. Therefore it is worth getting a normal eye test done, and pay for them to do a basic retinopathy on the equipment they have. This will not pick up all problems, but will pick up the worce problems.
 
Sorry, I'm not quite clear from question what stage you are in the referral pathways but hopefully the following information may be helpful:-
  • In the UK, the first diabetic eye screening should occur within 3 months of diagnosis. This screening consists of taking photographs of the retina and measuring the person's visual acuity with an eye chart.
  • If a type of diabetic retinopathy called diabetic maculopathy is discovered at screening, a referral may be made to ophthalmology for an OCT scan within 13-18 weeks. This scan is non-invasive (and may be combined with photographs) and will show whether the maculopathy is clinically significant and whether it needs treatment.
  • Screening is aimed at detecting disease BEFORE any symptoms occur. If someone goes to their GP or optician with visual symptoms, they should be referred directly to ophthalmology without waiting for a screening appointment.
  • Blurred vision may be due to maculopathy but it can also be due to changes in blood glucose levels which affect the refractive power of the lens. This is fairly common in people who are newly-diagnosed with diabetes as there is a sudden improvement in diabetic control.
  • Urgent referrals to ophthalmology for diabetic retinopathy are made when the person has proliferative retinopathy. Screening generally allows this to be done before any symptoms occur but if someone with a history of diabetic retinopathy develops floaters, dark areas in the visual field and/or cloudy vision it may indicate that they have developed proliferative retinopathy which needs to be seen in ophthalmology urgently i.e. within 6 weeks.
 
My husband and I have to go to a medical centre...not our own ...within our health authority for our retinal scans and that is a permanent service there all the time
 
Pinkorchid said:
My husband and I have to go to a medical centre...not our own ...within our health authority for our retinal scans and that is a permanent service there all the time
Click to expand...
Yes, it depends on the screening service. Some counties have fixed locations, some rotate between locations and others use specially-trained high-street opticians. Some counties have a mixture.
 
in my case in Denmark I waited 4 month , and then had a new apointment date for 12 month later...
 
I can phone my Optometrist and get an appointment in the same week for a eye test / examination.

If I have to have further treatment, the Optometrist will make an appointment for me to see either one of the two Ophthalmologists here in Bundaberg within two to three weeks.
 
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