Bay of Plenty

Find the referral acceptance and access criteria for ophthalmology in the Bay of Plenty.

Referral acceptance

Referral acceptance

Ophthalmology referrals are prioritised by senior medical officers based on the information contained within. Additional information should be attached where available. 

Tauranga eye specialists clinic and day stay theatre, hold contracts with Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora - Bay of Plenty to provide ophthalmic public outpatient appointments and public elective surgery.

All accepted referrals will be seen within a maximum waiting time of 4 months, unless there is a clinical reason for delay.

Referral acceptance is as follows:

First specialist assessments

Waiting priority 1

Accepted

Waiting priority 2

Accepted

Waiting priority 3

Accepted

Waiting priority 4

Accepted

Waiting priority 4C

Declined


At a first specialist assessment (FSA), patients are assessed by a specialist and if surgery is required, patients are then prioritised using the national ophthalmology CPAC tool.  A 0-100 score is allocated to each patient.

Prior to acceptance for surgery, patients are assessed in an anaesthetic pre-assessment clinic to ensure they are fit for surgery.

All patients accepted for surgery will be treated within a maximum waiting time of 4 months, unless there is a clinical reason for delay.

Surgery acceptance is as follows:

Treatment list - new CPAC form for cataracts only

 

CPAC 50

Accepted

 

Treatment list - other surgery

Waiting Priority 1

91 - 100 points

Accepted

Waiting priority 2

71 - 90 points

Accepted

Waiting priority 3

51 - 70 points

Accepted

Waiting priority 4

12 - 50 points

Declined

Waiting priority

 Less than 12 points

Declined

Access criteria

Access criteria

Category

Criteria

Examples (not an exhaustive list)

1. Immediate

 

The referring practitioner will need to phone the duty registrar or Ophthalmologist to discuss the case so that an appropriate appointment can be made
  • Trauma not able to be treated conservatively
  • Surgical trauma to the lids, orbit, ocular structures
  • Penetrating eye injuries
  • Retained intraocular foreign bodies
  • Hyphaema
  • Chemical burns
  • Painful red eye with significant loss of vision
  • Corneal ulcer
  • Acute glaucoma
 
  • Sudden severe vision loss
  • Ischaemic ocular conditions
  • Eg temporal arteritis
 
  • Painful diplopia
  
  • Third nerve palsy

2. Urgent

 

 

As above – the referring practitioner
will need to discuss the case by phone before an appropriate appointment can be made
  • Sudden visual loss
  • Retinal detachment / haemorrhage
  • Vitreous Haemorrhage
  • Neurological conditions threatening permanent damage if treatment delayed
  • Disc Oedema
  • Other cranial nerve palsies
  • Acute field defects
  • Painful red eye with loss of vision
  • Iritis
  • Herpes Zoster/simplex
  • Traumatic conditions
  • Corneal foreign bodies
  • Orbital blowout fracture
  • Corneal abrasions
  • Blunt trauma
  • Infective conditions
  • Acute dacryocystitis
  • Unresponsive conjunctivitis
  • Paediatric conditions
  • Watering eye with cloudy cornea
  • White pupil

3. Semi Urgent

 

Diabetic conditions with loss of vision

Retinopathy

Neoplasms

Intraocular malignancy

Chronic impairment of visual function

Bilateral “hand movement” cataracts

Infective disease

Chronic dacrocystitis

4. Routine

 

 
  • Chronic impairment of visual function
  • Glaucoma suspects – high risk
  • Amblyogenic conditions
  • Strabismus
  • Refractive conditions in children
  • Lid Tumours
  • BCC’s and SCC’s
  • Moderately progressive diabetic conditions
  • Vision threatening retinopathy
  • Retinopathy in pregnancy
  • Misc conditions threatening permanent damage if treatment delayed
  • Entropion
  • Infective disease
  • Chronic dacrocystitis
  • Orbital disease
  • Proptosis – displacement of globe
  • Tyroid eye disease
  • Chronic impairment of vision
  • Cataracts and media opacities
  • ARM
  • Glaucoma suspects – low risk
  • Dry AMD
  • Significant pterygia and ptosis
  • Childhood cosmetic squint
  • Congenital epiphora
  • Refractive error with co-morbidity
  • Keratoconus
  • High Myopia

4C. Routine
(Not accepted)
  • Chronic non sight threatening conditions
  • Adult epiphora
  • Ectropian
  • Cosmetic abnormalities without other pathology
  • Adult refractive conditions without other pathology

Referral guidelines

Referral guidelines

Public hospital referrals

Please clearly identify public ophthalmology referrals and send to:

Postal address:

Regional Referral Centre
Bay of Plenty District Health Board
Private Bag 12024
Tauranga 3143

We accept referrals from medical doctors, optometrists, ED nurse practitioners or CNS and school vision and hearing testers only.

Urgent referrals

Please phone Tauranga eye specialists 07 578 7508 to speak with the duty ophthalmologist or registrar.

If advised or agreed urgent by the ophthalmologist or registrar, the referral should then be clearly marked 'urgent' and emailed or faxed directly to Tauranga eye specialists.

Please do not phone cellphones – these are switched off during practice hours and please do not mark ‘urgent’ if the eye pathology is not urgent.

Refer

  • Cataracts – (please consider optometry referral in the first instance as this is faster for the patient) only refer if:
    • Binocular best corrected visual acuity is 6/12 or worse, or
    • Best corrected visual acuity in worse eye is less than 6/362. 
  • Children up to 4 years of age if vision is 6/18 or worse in worse eye (corrected or uncorrected)
    • Never refer without including best corrected visual acuity - binocular and for each eye separately (pre-verbal children excluded).
    • As the Ministry of Health requires ethnicity to be recorded, referrals that do not state ethnicity will be returned.

Don't Refer

  • Pterygia – unless atypical or significant corneal encroachment – i.e. more than 3mm from edge of cornea.
  • Childhood epiphora without infection in first twelve months.
  • Adult epiphora.
  • Children older than 4 years with 6/18 vision or better - refer to optometrist first.
  • Meibomian (tarsal) cysts unless a-typical.
  • Adult refractions.
  • Glaucoma screening.
  • Uncomplicated ectropion, ptosis or eye lid malposition.
  • Hydroxychloroquine monitoring unless on treatment for 5 years or more.
  • Cosmetic abnormalities without other pathology.

With increasing referral numbers being received beyond capability of the service we are contracted to provide; we would appreciate it if you would consider whether optometry services would be able to solve the clinical problem you have in each case.