If you are based in community practice, you must complete hospital eye service (HES) experience.

This will help you learn about multi-disciplinary working in a hospital eye department as well as ophthalmology specialities and their role in detecting and managing eye conditions. 

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, it may not be possible for you to secure a placement in a hospital eye service, so there are three ways to meet this requirement.

1. Spend at least 10 sessions in a hospital eye service during Stage One. We recommend two weeks full time equivalent to give a detailed insight into NHS eye care. You must complete the HES logbook as evidence of your experience.
   
   OR
2. Complete all nine modules of our virtual hospital eye service experience. The course is flexible, but your employer should give you the equivalent of five days study leave to complete it, including a compulsory interactive low vision module. You must complete the feedback for each module and download each of the nine module certificates. You do not need to complete the HES logbook. 
   
   OR
3. Complete 10 sessions* which are a fusion of face-to-face clinics in the hospital and the virtual hospital eye service experience. You must cover the following clinical areas to ensure a mix of ophthalmic specialities:
   • Diabetic eye disease
   • Emergency eye service clinic
   • Glaucoma clinic
   • Low vision clinic
   • Neuro-ophthalmology clinic
   • Paediatric clinic
   • Retinal clinic

In order to have completed 10 sessions you will need three more which can be in any clinical area. You must complete the HES logbook as evidence of your face-to-face experience and download each module certificate.

* One session is the equivalent to half a day. If you have any queries about equivalent experience, please email lead.assessor@college-optometrists.org

Once you have completed the HES experience, show your hospital logbook and/or certificates to your assessor during a Stage One visit.