Welcome to the Optometry department
At present our team is made up of sixteen full time and part time Optometrists, two pre-registration optometrists and a dispensing optician as well as a small administrative support team. There is more information about our team on the meet the team web page.
If you would like to better understand our laser vision unit please see our St. James’s Laser Vision pages.
New Head of Optometry
Alison Weston has been appointed as the new Head of Optometry Services, following the retirement of the previous Head, Tim Hunter. Alison will take up the role in January 2026.
Alison has previously worked at Coventry Hospital and Nottingham University Hospital before taking up her role of Principal Optometrist at Leeds General Infirmary in 1993 and then Deputy Head of Optometry for the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust in 1999.
Main eye clinic
Optometry and dispensing optician services are predominantly situated in the main Eye Clinic at St. James’s University Hospital in a purpose built eye department on Level 04 (the First Floor) in Gledhow Wing, having moved from its previous location on the Ground Floor in Chancellors Wing in December 2022.
Access to the Optometry Office and dispensing area in the Main Eye Clinic in Gledhow Wing (avoiding a long trip through the rest of the eye department) is through the exit doors (on the right hand side of the lifts). You will need to use the intercom system to let the team know that you are there for dispensing or collecting items from the Optometry Office.
If this is not working you can access the office and dispensing area either through the main entrance or through St. James’s laser Vision to the left of the lifts.
Our Optometry Consulting rooms in the main Eye clinic are labelled with white on Orange signs and Orange wall markers as are the Optometry Office and dispensing area.
Telephone support is available through our Optometry Office on 0113 2064742 for urgent queries or through our email [email protected] for non urgent queries.
What we do
The Optometry department provides a range of specialist hospital optometry services to patients from Leeds, Yorkshire and from across the North of England.
The Optometry team consists of highly qualified optometrists and dispensing opticians who deliver a range of modern optometric core and enhanced services.
Non medical prescribing
The Optometry department has now supported the Consultant Optometrist, Principal Optometrist and ten of our Specialist Optometrists to gain Optometric independent prescribing qualifications. Allowing them to prescribe medication for eye patients in the Acute Referral (Eye Casualty) clinics, Glaucoma, Anterior segment clinics, Iritis, Medical retina and YAG laser clinics at the main eye clinic based at St. James’s University Hospital as well as in Glaucoma clinics at Seacroft Hospital and clinics at Wharfedale Hospital.
There is more information on Optometric Independent prescribing on the Independent prescribing web page
Glaucoma, Medical Retina, Low Vision and Paediatric qualifications
All of our Specialist Optometrists have higher qualifications related to the enhanced clinical roles they perform. These include diplomas and professional certificates in contact lenses, Glaucoma, Medical Retina, Low vision and paediatric eye care.
These form part of a range of post graduate higher qualifications developed by the College of Optometrists.
There is more information on Optometric higher qualifications on the higher qualifications web page.
Dispensing service
We are the only hospital department in the Yorkshire area able to offer a specialised hospital based spectacle dispensing service to the Trust’s Optometry and Ophthalmology patients, as such we also receive tertiary referrals for complex spectacle dispensing from other hospital eye departments around Yorkshire.
There is more information about our dispensing services on the dispensing opticians web page
Pre-Registration Optometrist
Our newest pre-registration optometrist began her thirteen month training contract with us in September 2025. Our pre-registration optometrist from 2024 has now successfully completed all her external assessments and her final OSCE assessment as part of the PRP (pre-registration period) and has been appointed as a Resident Optometrist in the department.
Ten of our previous Pre-Registration Optometrists having successfully completed their Pre-registration period (PRP) continued working for us as a qualified optometrist in our fixed term two year Resident Optometrist role. The Resident Optometrist post is designed to provide experience and opportunities to develop skills in enhanced optometric roles for newly qualified optometrists. This has allowed five of our colleagues to move on to permanent full time positions within the Hospital eye service in Optometry departments across the country. Whilst two of our previous Residents now have permanent part time sessions here at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
At present in order to become a registered Optometrist you must successfully complete a degree in Optometry followed by a period of supervised training in an Optometry practice, with a number of assessments and a final practical examination. This is changing as the profession moves to a registrable degree from 2027 onwards.