The Minor Eye Conditions Service (MECS) is available to people with new or very recent minor eye problems to get the help that they need quickly and easily closer to home.
Under this scheme, any patient who is registered with a Blackburn with Darwen or East Lancashire GP can can access this local service rather than waiting for a GP appointment or referral to a specialist clinic. Patients are able to self-present to an optometry or optician’s practice which provides this service. It may be useful to contact the opticians first to arrange a suitable appointment date and time.
Opening times vary but most are open between 9am and 5.30pm Monday – Saturday, and some 10am – 4.00pm on Sunday. However, most optician shops are open between 8.00am and 6.00pm each weekday.
At a MECS appointment, clinical assessment, diagnosis and then clinical management will take place. Other, more serious eye problems – which may seem ‘’minor’’ – may require the help of an eye specialist (an ophthalmologist). If this is the case, the MECS practitioner can make the referral for the patient directly with the hospital, making it easier for them to get the treatment they need as quickly as possible.
The following conditions are seen under the MECS service:-
• Watery eyes
• In-growing lashes (trichiasis) – feels like you have something in your eye
• Superficial foreign bodies
• Inflammation of the eyelids (blepharitis – red, flaky and itchy lids)
• Dry eye (gritty / itchy / stinging / burning)
• Red eye (with normal vision and no pain)
• Flashing lights and ‘’floaters’’
• Styes and lid lumps (chalazion / hordeolum)
NOTE: East Lancashire CCG and Blackburn with Darwen CCG will not fund the prescribing of medicines and treatments for minor conditions where products are readily available to buy over-the-counter at supermarkets and pharmacies. (see poster above)
This service is available at the following optician shops:-
ACCRINGTON
Specsavers — Unit 4b, Cornhill BB5 1EX Tel: 01254 389666
Boots Opticians — Unit 14, 10 Union Street, Arndale Shopping Centre, BB5 1PL Tel: 01254 232191
SW Allen — 17 Dutton Street, BB5 1JT Tel: 01254 233817
Spex Opticians — 37 Union Street, BB5 1PL Tel: 01254 398942
BACUP
Crowther Optometrists — 33/35 Market Street, OL13 0AJ Tel: 01706 874631
The Spectacle Factory Shop Ltd — Unit 1a Tollbar Business Park, Newchurch Road, Stacksteads OL12 0NA Tel: 01706 870524
BARNOLDSWICK
James Bontoft Optometrists Ltd — 23–25 Rainhall Road, BB18 5DR Tel: 01282 853223
BLACKBURN
Blackburn Optical Centre — Unit 400, Glenfield Park, Blackwater Road, BB1 5QH Tel: 01254 663263
Ideal Eyecare — 783 Whalley New Road, BB1 9BE Tel: 01254 433720
New Bank Optical — 26 New Bank Road, BB2 6JW Tel: 01254 661234
Specsavers — Unit 1, Morrisons Supermarket, Railway Road, BB1 5AZ Tel: 01254 682504
Specsavers — 21 Lord Street Mall, BB1 7NQ Tel: 01254 580099
A J Spurrett — 20 Richmond Terrace, BB1 7BL Tel: 01254 59443
Tyrrells And Embery Optometry — 66 Darwen Street, BB2 2BL Tel: 01254 53554
Vision Express — Unit 237, Cobden Court, Blackburn Shopping Centre, BB1 7JG Tel: 01254 660652
Second Sight Eyecare — 107–109 Johnston Street, BB2 1HY Tel: 01254 678006
Wordens Eyecare — 61–63 James Street, BB1 6BE Tel: 01254 59558
BRIERFIELD
S W Allen Optical Ltd — 1 Railway Street, BB9 5PJ Tel: 01282 615505
BURNLEY
Brown Opticians — 58 St James Street, BB11 1NH Tel: 01282 426068
Specsavers — Unit 41, 25 The Mall, BB11 1HH Tel: 01282 450045
Second Sight Eyecare — 32–40 Keirby Walk, BB11 2DE Tel: 01282 839009
Boots Opticians — 51 St James Street, BB11 1QL Tel: 01282 416850
M Anderson Optometrist — 40 Lyndhurst Road, BB10 4DX Tel: 01282 453424
CLITHEROE
Bayfields T/a Norman Cope — 11 Castle Street, BB7 2BT Tel: 01200 423975
COLNE
Boots Opticians, 22 Market Street, BB8 0HS Tel: 01282 863533
Wordens Eyecare — 27 Skipton Road, BB8 0NQ Tel: 01282 863919
Planit Opticians — 60 Albert Road, BB8 0AD Tel: 01282 859775
DARWEN
Susan Hilton — 45 Bridge Street, BB3 2AA Tel: 01254 708877
Wordens Eyecare — 34 Market Street, BB3 1DN Tel: 01254 776630
HASLINGDEN
David Gould Opticians — 41 Deardengate, BB4 5QN Tel: 01706 228927
Worden Opticians / K Burgess Opticians — 18 Deardengate, BB4 5QJ Tel: 01706 222660
NELSON
Specsavers — 8 Marsden Mall, Pendle Rise Shopping Centre, BB9 9SL Tel: 01282 608450
Brown Opticians — 35 Railway Street, BB9 9SG Tel: 01282 697511
The Spectacle Factory Shop Ltd — 51 Scotland Road, BB9 7UY Tel: 01282 611334
OSWALDTWISTLE
The Spectacle Factory Shop Ltd — 348 Union Road, BB5 3JD Tel: 01254 387877
PADIHAM
Mark Jinkinson Optometrist Ltd — 95 Burnley Road, BB12 8BL Tel: 01282 771600
RAWTENSTALL
David Gould Opticians — 101 Bank Street, BB4 7QN Tel: 01706 215200
Spex Opticians — 83 Bank Street, BB4 7QN Tel: 01706 221132
