Ophthalmology

About this service

The Royal Cornwall ophthalmology service looks after patients who have eye conditions or injuries to their eyes.

We assess, treat and carry out eye surgery through a consultant-led local eye hospital service at eight locations across Cornwall. We see around 34,000 outpatients each year at our clinics in the Scilly Isles, Penzance, Helston, Falmouth, Truro, Redruth, St. Austell, and Bodmin.

We care for patients with a wide-range of eye conditions such as squints, lazy eye or double vision, help prevent blindness due to diabetes and offer modern treatment for Wet Age-Related Macular degeneration.

Eye emergencies

Our Emergency Eye Service is run by trained nurses and medical staff.  All referrals for this service must come via the GP or Optometrists using the Eye Emergency Referral Form. Our ophthalmologists also operate an on-call out-of-hours service and can be contacted through the Hospital Switchboard.

Eye surgery

We carry out modern eye surgery at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro and West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance for conditions as diverse as eyelid diseases, squints and cataracts.

Cornwall Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Service

We are also part of the widely­-praised Cornwall Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Service (DRSS). This service prevents blindness due to diabetes by examining and, if necessary, efficiently treating over 90% of all diabetic patients in the county. You can find out more about the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme on our Diabetes page.

Contact information

Where to find us

The Eye Unit is on the ground floor of the Tower Block at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Treliske, Truro.

Directions from Tower Block entrance

As you enter the Tower Block, turn left, continue past reception and the Friends café until the lifts are in front of you. Turn left, and the Eye Unit is straight ahead.

Directions from Trelawny Main Entrance

If you enter from the main hospital entrance, go past the café (on your right) and WH Smiths (on your left). Head to the end of the corridor and go down the stairs or take the lift to the ground floor. Go left and this will bring you to the Lloyds Pharmacy shop (on your left). Continue along this corridor, right to the end and then turn right to enter the Tower Block. The Eye Unit is on your right, just after the toilet and before you reach Tower reception.

Page last reviewed: 10 May 2023

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