Adelaide’s WCH rolls out new referral forms for glasses

The Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Adelaide (WCH) has released a new prescription form to better communicate patients’ needs to community optometrists.  

Children who are current patients of the WCH ophthalmology outpatients department often need glasses, which are not provided by the hospital system.

Claire Ong, paediatric optometrist at the WCH ophthalmology department advises that if the box labelled, “Prescription is to be refined by the community optometrist” is NOT ticked, then there is no need to further change the prescription. She explains, “We understand that some optometrists are required to refine other ophthalmology prescriptions. However, if this is the case, most children have had a prescription fully completed, including cycloplegic refraction. In these prescriptions, there is no need to put children through another cycloplegic refraction, and it is appropriate to just provide the glasses without alteration.”

This new form has been rolled out since November 2023, with only a short cross over period expected while existing forms are used up. Download the new prescription form here.

For questions about this form, please email Optometry Australia’s Cassandra Haines c.haines@optometry.org.au, or reach out to the WCH at CYWHSPaediatricOphthalmology@sa.gov.au.