A Retinal Specialist is a medical practitioner who has completed their Ophthalmology specialist training as well as further sub-specialist training in diagnosing and managing diseases that affect the back of the eye.

Yes. A referral can be made through your General Practitioner, Optometrist, Ophthalmologist or other Medicare registered medical practitioner.

To assist with your eye clinic visit, please bring along the following items:

• A current referral
• An up-to-date list of your medications
• Current spectacles, including those for both distance and reading 
• Medicare card, private health insurance details and any applicable pension or concession cards
• You may wish to bring sunglasses to wear after your appointment, especially as you will likely need to have your pupils dilated with eye drops for a comprehensive examination. 

New patients should allow 1.5 to 2 hours. This enables a comprehensive consultation that includes a detailed history and thorough eye examination, including pupil dilation with eye drops. There may also be additional investigations required. Review appointments will be shorter in duration.

Yes, absolutely. We recommend that you do not drive yourself to any appointments, as your vision may be blurred from dilating eye drops. These usually last for approximately 3 – 4 hours.

We believe that it is important for patients to know the likely costs of their consultation, investigations and any required procedures. You will be given an indication of these costs when booking your appointment and prior to any procedures. Payment options include credit card and EFTPOS.

If you have a current referral and are a Medicare cardholder, you can claim a Medicare benefit to cover part of the cost of your consultation and treatment. Our staff will provide you with information on how much you are able to claim at the time of your visit, and can process this claim electronically for you. Please be aware that some diagnostic scans required do not attract a Medicare rebate.

If you have private health insurance, it will usually cover most of the medical fees incurred for any treatment in a day surgery or hospital. Your private health insurance does not cover the cost of consultations or treatments provided as an outpatient in the eye clinic.

Yes. However, you will be required to remove your contact lenses during your consultation. If possible, it is best to remove your contact lenses prior to coming to the appointment and wear your glasses instead. If this is not possible, please ensure you bring your contact lens container to your consultation. For certain eye measurements, your contact lenses may need to be removed for a period of time prior to your appointment. Please speak to one of our eye clinic staff if you have any queries.

After checking in with the reception staff, you will first see an ophthalmic assistant or nurse. They will take your history and perform a number of baseline eye assessments. They may also administer eye drops to dilate your pupils. You will then wait until your eyes are sufficiently dilated before seeing the Ophthalmologist.

The Ophthalmologist will then review your history and examine your eyes and investigations, before discussing their findings with you.

You may require pupil dilating drops to help examine the back of your eyes. We recommend all patients come prepared to be dilated, at every visit. If you have any concerns regarding pupil dilation, please speak to our clinic staff beforehand.

This depends on your condition. Some conditions may require a single visit, while others may require periodic reviews and treatment.

We fully appreciate that plans can change at the last minute. With this in mind, we will endeavour to help re-schedule your appointments as needed.

Terrace Eye Centre: Terrace Eye Centre has arrangements with the Astor Terrace car park (28 Astor Terrace) for a discounted parking rate, for up to 3 hours. Upon request, the reception staff can provide a parking voucher. As well, other close-by public car parks are located on Astor Terrace and Turbot Street. There is also limited metered street parking in the area.

Cairns Eye & Laser Centre:  Patient parking is available on-site within the Piccones Shopping Village car park.

The Eye Health Centre – Wynnum:  Reserved patient parking is located at the entrance to the eye clinic.  Nearby street parking is also available.

North West Eye & Retina: Reserved patient parking is located behind the eye clinic through a side entrance. Nearby street parking is also available.