Patient Hub

New patients with urgent problems should ask their referring practitioner to contact Eye Surgery Associates directly to arrange emergency treatment with an appropriate Ophthalmologist.

Post-operative patients of Eye Surgery Associates should contact their Surgeon with the emergency number provided to them.

Existing patients please contact our rooms about an urgent appointment.

In either case, if you are unable to contact your doctor or practitioner, please call the Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital on (03) 9929 8666 for urgent medical attention or dial 000 in an emergency.

Yes, an account will be issued on the day of your visit and it is expected that all accounts (other than for surgery) will be settled on the day of consultation. We accept payment by Mastercard, Visa, Cash or EFTPOS.

Private Fees Apply

We are able to process most Medicare Claims electronically.

Where possible, ESA Surgeons may choose to, or not to, participate in a GAP or Co-Payment scheme with the patient's health insurer. Patient's undergoing a hospital procedure will be informed of the costs and payment arrangements prior to the procedure being undertaken.

We recommend that you allow up to 90 minutes for your initial appointment, as it may be necessary to dilate your pupils or perform other tests during your visit. We will always endeavour to advise you of the time required for subsequent appointments.

To reduce the glare caused by pupil dilation, please bring a pair of sunglasses with you.

Unless you are certain of the nature of your appointment, it is often best not to drive yourself to the appointment as eye drops which dilate the pupils of your eyes are commonly used at each visit. This means you may have to wait 1 to 2 hours before being able to drive after the appointment.

It is recommended that you have a valid referral from your doctor or optometrist to see the Specialist Ophthalmologist, in order to claim a Medicare rebate on your consultation and/or medical treatment, if applicable.

A referral provides vital information about your condition and medical history which assists in ensuring you are seen by the appropriate Specialist, and your regular doctor and/or optometrist can assist in the ongoing co-management of your eye issue.

GP and Optometrist referrals are typically valid for 12 months. Specialists referrals are valid for 3 months.

If you are an existing patient booking another appointment, please ask if you referral is valid for that appointment or a new one is required.

We also recommend that you have private health insurance (hospital cover), if you require an in-hospital procedure.

Phone lines are open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on business days.

Appointments are normally offered between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

Appointments are essential and private fees apply. Please contact us to make an appointment. It's helpful to have your referral with you when you call.

Yes, at your first visit you will be asked to complete a patient Patient Registration Form. Please bring your current Medicare, Veteran Affairs, Pension, Health Care, and private insurance cards with you to complete this form. If it suits you to do so, our new Patient Registration Form is available online and can be printed and completed in advance by you or somebody who may be helping you with your visit to ESA.

For each visit, please bring:

• A current and valid referral. Your current glasses.
• A list of all information about your medical history, any significant health problems or previous operations.
• A list of all current medications, including eye drops, injections or tablets.
• A list of all allergies to all medications.
• Details of relevant family history.

Some procedures and treatments by the Specialists are undertaken in our rooms. ESA consulting rooms have well equipped offices and procedure areas specifically for this purpose. Room based treatments are walk in walk out, and according to the specific procedure will require no anaesthesia, or a local anaesthesia only.

If sedative or general anaesthetic is needed, the procedure will be performed in the operating room of a registered and accredited hospital facility, with a qualified anaesthetist present for patient safety, and with a supervised recovery area. All major procedures are undertaken in hospital as day or longer stay admissions, according to the planned surgery.

At each appointment, your initial assessment will be with an Orthoptist.

Orthoptists are degree qualified allied health professionals. They support the Specialists by discussing the reason for your visit; taking your medical history; performing relevant diagnostic tests; and administering dilating drops (where relevant).

This information is used by the Ophthalmologist to monitor, diagnosis and/or treat your eye condition.

Previous scans/test results from optometrists or another ophthalmologist are useful in providing previous history. In most instances, regardless of the age of the previous scans/test results, your treating Ophthalmologist will request that the tests be performed again on ESA equipment. The new scans/test results enable the Specialist to analyse different elements of the results which is required for a comprehensive ophthalmological assessment. These scans also provide a baseline for which future results can be directly compared and analysed by ESA’s diagnostic equipment for progression of disease.

Protecting patient privacy is important to us. Likewise, we respect the privacy of our employees and the medical practitioners we work with.  Photos, videos or recordings of a person in a medical setting, who has not consented or cannot consent, may have privacy implications so it’s important to consider how the photos and videos are used.

We request that photos, videos and/or recordings of other patients, their carers, visitors, our staff and medical practitioners are not taken/recorded unless prior approval is obtained.  If the consent is withheld, for whatever reason, please respect the individual’s decision.

Any photography, videos or recordings should not interfere with a patient’s clinical care.  If photography, videos or recordings disrupts the delivery of care, or if a doctor or staff member believes that it is not in the best interest of the patient – even if the patient has given permission – the ESA doctor or staff member may request that it stops.

If you have the appropriate consent to take a photo, video or recording, please take care that ESA doctors, staff, other patients and visitors aren’t accidentally captured.

Photographing medical records is not permitted.  If you wish to obtain a copy of your medical record please make a formal request and a staff member will assist in the process.  Videoing and/or recording medical consultations is not permitted without the approval of your treating ophthalmologist.  A copy of the video or recording made during a consultation must be retained by ESA and will form part of the patient's medical record.