Acute & Comprehensive Ophthalmology
Manchester Royal Eye Hospital
Acute & Comprehensive Ophthalmology at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital
The Acute and Comprehensive Ophthalmology programme at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital provides exposure to the assessment, prioritisation and management of urgent and general ophthalmic presentations.
The Emergency Eye Department is a nurse practitioner and doctor-led service. During the day it is primarily led by nurse practitioners with specialist training in eye emergencies and other eye diseases. The Acute Referral Centre is a doctor and optometrist-led service for patients who have been seen in the Emergency Eye Department and require follow-up within a week.
Observers and fellows can experience how urgent ophthalmic pathways are delivered in a specialist eye hospital, including reception, triage, clinical history, examination, investigations, treatment, prescribing and follow-up planning.
The service provides exposure to acute eye disease, ocular trauma, post-operative concerns, sight-threatening symptoms and comprehensive ophthalmology decision-making. Learning is supported by multidisciplinary working with consultants, doctors, nurse practitioners, optometrists, imaging teams and specialist nurses.
Fellowships and observerships at Manchester Specialist Health Academy provide international clinicians with structured opportunities to experience high quality healthcare training within a leading NHS environment. Both pathways offer consultant oversight, a clear induction, and access to modern clinical settings that support a strong understanding of advanced patient care. Participants are welcomed into a professional community that encourages learning, collaboration, and engagement with the culture of Manchester.
While fellows take part in more in depth clinical development, gaining exposure to subspecialties, procedures and research, observers focus on shadowing and understanding multidisciplinary practice within NHS services. Both groups benefit from involvement in clinics, team discussions, and wider learning activities such as simulation sessions, CPD opportunities, and quality improvement insight.
Academic contributions and awards
Evaluation of the Community Urgent Eyecare Service in Greater Manchester, 2026: A Greater Manchester study involving Manchester Royal Eye Hospital authors evaluated urgent eyecare pathways, independent prescribing and referral outcomes, with relevance to demand management across urgent ophthalmology services.
Accuracy of ophthalmic referral diagnoses by non-ophthalmologists in acute eye care, 2026: A Manchester Royal Eye Hospital-linked systematic review protocol focuses on diagnostic concordance in emergency and acute eye care referrals.
Consultant academic activity: Mr Felipe Dhawahir-Scala is a scientific reviewer for Cochrane Eyes and Vision and several international journals, with multiple scientific papers and more than 30 presentations.
MREH Optometrists national research prize: Manchester Royal Eye Hospital’s optometrists won a national research prize two years in a row, reflecting the hospital’s academic and multidisciplinary culture.
Rare and complex cases
- Chemical injury, penetrating injury and eyelid laceration requiring urgent assessment and escalation.
- Sudden loss of vision with or without pain and sudden onset diplopia.
- Painful visual symptoms in contact lens wearers and acute post-operative concerns after cataract surgery, glaucoma drainage surgery, corneal transplant surgery or treatment injection.
- Ocular trauma and acute or urgent ophthalmic disease requiring rapid diagnosis, treatment and referral planning.
- Severe eyelid swelling with fever, visual loss or double vision.
- Complex cataract and posterior segment presentations requiring senior clinical input.
- Cases requiring coordination with specialist teams including retina, glaucoma, cornea, uveitis and paediatric ophthalmology.
Why Manchester?
Manchester is a city of innovation and progress, renowned as the world’s first industrial city and still leading in science, healthcare, and technology. With excellent transport links and a vibrant, multicultural atmosphere, it offers an inclusive environment for learning and professional growth.
Beyond your placement, Manchester offers something for everyone - from watching the iconic Manchester derby to exploring world-class museums and galleries. With vibrant music, sport, and culture, the city truly has it all. Combining heritage and modernity, it creates a unique setting for personal enrichment and memorable experiences whilst you develop professionally.
Meet our expert supervisors
Our team consists of highly qualified and motivated professionals, who are all experts in their field. With many years of experience in the industry, they have the expertise to provide comprehensive, first-rate services to our clients.
Felipe Dhawahir-Scala
FRCSEd, LMS
Mr Felipe Dhawahir-Scala is a Consultant Ophthalmic and Vitreoretinal Surgeon and Director of Acute Ophthalmic Services at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. He specialises in retinal surgery, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, complex cataract surgery, and acute ophthalmic conditions. Alongside his clinical practice, he is actively involved in research, scientific peer review, and medical education, with numerous publications and presentations at national and international meetings.
Our signature programmes
Observership
Acute & Comprehensive
Objectives
By the end of the placement, the visiting professional should be able to:
- Understand how acute ophthalmology services are structured across the Emergency Eye Department and Acute Referral Centre.
- Observe triage, prioritisation and clinical flow for urgent eye presentations in a specialist eye hospital environment.
- Develop insight into common and sight-threatening acute ophthalmic conditions, including red eye, painful visual loss, sudden visual loss, diplopia and ocular trauma.
- Observe history-taking, examination, diagnostic testing, treatment planning, prescribing and follow-up decisions within urgent ophthalmology pathways.
- Understand multidisciplinary working between consultants, doctors, nurse practitioners, optometrists, imaging teams and specialist nurses.
- Gain insight into patient safety, escalation, referral quality and interface working with optometry, GPs, emergency care and specialist ophthalmology teams.
Eligibility
- The visiting professional must have sufficient English language skills to engage meaningfully in the observership.
Fellowship
Acute & Comprehensive
Objectives
By the end of the placement, the visiting professional should be able to:
- Consolidate supervised clinical reasoning in acute and comprehensive ophthalmology, aligned to the fellow’s experience and agreed scope of practice.
- Strengthen assessment and management of urgent ophthalmic presentations, including recognition of sight-threatening disease and appropriate escalation.
- Build confidence in synthesising referral information, clinical findings and investigation results to support diagnosis and follow-up planning.
- Gain supervised exposure to acute care decision-making across triage, treatment, prescribing, referral and multidisciplinary communication.
- Develop understanding of service design, demand management and safe patient flow in a high-volume acute ophthalmology setting.
- Engage with audit, research, teaching or pathway improvement activity.
Eligibility
- Postgraduate Qualification: Applicants must hold an overseas-recognised postgraduate medical qualification (MD, MS, Masters) in ophthalmology or a relevant specialty.
- Experience: Minimum of 3 years’ recent experience in ophthalmology or a related specialty within the last 5 years, including at least 12 months of continuous practice before applying.
- Training Level: Equivalent to ST5 or above, or post-CCT clinicians seeking subspecialty exposure.
- Language Proficiency: IELTS Academic with 7.0 in each band and overall 7.5, or OET Medicine with Grade B in all domains, with certificate validity within 24 months.
- Registration: GMC registration is required for fellowship activity. Sponsorship support may be available through approved routes where appropriate.
- Applicants must not have failed PLAB exams previously.
- Visa sponsorship is only available through approved routes; self-funded visas outside agreed schemes are excluded.
- Additional specialty expectation: Prior ophthalmology experience and familiarity with acute eye presentations, ophthalmic examination, referral pathways or emergency care environments is desirable.