Ophthalmologist report for divorce

[Soopermum1]

I have an eye condition which is very pronounced and is relevant to my divorce. The other party has requested an ophthalmologist report (despite having been married to me for a long time and this condition, and its restrictions being a running theme)

I agreed, because I had believed I could cover that off with a simple trip to the optician.

So, I'm worried about having to either use valuable nhs resources to get one, or pay for one privately.

How can I manage this? Do I get a letter from my doctor and tell the court and the other side that this is sufficient as the condition is easily noted by anyone.

Is there a court order?

Yes 😞 can I do anything to get it changed?

It's not specifically stated in the court order, but I agreed to all her requests in the questionnaire

What’s the condition OP? If it’s something like RP where you a clearly demonstrable and quantifiable reduction in visual field and possibly acuity, you may find that the records and a report from your regular optician would suffice.

If it’s something more subtle which has a spectrum of how much it affects quality of life or you don’t have a previous history from your optometrist, then you may need to see a specialist. I think you’d struggle to do that on the NHS.
I’m an optometrist, but I’ve had to have a report for an injury I’ve suffered for insurance purposes and it was just under £800.

It's nystagmus. I've had it all my life and everyone notices it. The optician spotted it immediately when I was chatting to him. My ex knows this also 😡 it isn't usually noted on optician reports, might be on my medical records with the gp though

Ask your GP to write a letter confirming it but be aware you will probably have to pay.

I have rubbish eyesight generally (one eye long sighted, the other short sighted) but it's the nystagmus that is the real kicker and is the reason I can't drive

If your medical condition is relevant to your divorce I would tread carefully. Is this being used against you for custody purposes? Are you arguing for spousal support? I would make sure you have legal advice before providing medical documents.

It's to prove I need to stay living in the same area as I do now as I walk or take the bus to work and do all drop offs etc on foot. I can't drive, and never will be able to. I'm like Mr McGoo but need to make sure my position as presented is watertight

Ask for a copy of your records, either from optician or GP will have copies of hospital letters which will describe your level of vision.

I haven't been treated for the nystagmus since I was a child. I just live with it so I don't think I have anything like that in my records. I think it'll be noted somewhere as anyone medical always points it out even if I'm seeing them for something different. I suppose the basic question is whether a gp letter and a record from the optician, with them handwriting 'nystagmus' on there is a suitable substitute for an opthamology report, in court

Since it's very unlikely that your partner will have been unaware that you have nystagmus from the very beginning of your relationship, a simple letter from anyone confirming that you have it, or indeed a letter from a medical professional when dealing with it in your childhood should surely be sufficient?
I'm speaking from experience here, as dc2 has this, due to a genetic condition - they were also registered blind (although they have useful vision) at a month old - do you have this also?
What the court order for?

The court order is the next steps from the initial hearing. His lawyer said in the questionnaire that I needed to provide an opthamology report and I was fine with it until I went into it in a bit more detail. I wasn't represented in that hearing but I will be for the next.

An optician should be able to test to see if your eyesight is adequate for driving and give you a report. You should becablevto get the test results with all your readings to submit. I think Specsavers would be able to do it, as they do checks that would give this information. Try phoning a few opticians to see what they say.

If I was acting for the other side, I wouldn't accept a simple letter from a doctor. I would expect you to go to the ophthalmologist (which will need to be private due to what you need), have an examination and then they write a detailed medical report about your condition and how it affects and what it means.

I would object to a simple GP letter.

It will have been noted on your optician's medical records. If it's not changed for years, then they're unlikely to say anything.

Nystagmus in itself doesn't preclude you from driving:
This is the standard which you need to achieve to be able to drive.

You must be able to read (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) a car number plate made after 1 September 2001 from 20 metres.

You must also meet the minimum eyesight standard for driving by having a visual acuity of at least decimal 0.5 (6/12) measured on the Snellen scale (with glasses or contact lenses, if necessary) using both eyes together or, if you have sight in one eye only, in that eye.

You must also have an adequate field of vision - your optician can tell you about this and do a test.

So, your visual acuity will have been written down on your records from the optometrist. The visual field test you need to do is called an Esterman Visual Field, which is done with both eyes open.

If your visual acuity is lower than driving standard and it has been stable and documented over many years, I cannot see how they could insist on an ophthalmology report. Optometrist's records are medical records.

So, first port of call would be to speak to your optician and see what your visual acuity is. If it's less than 6/12, then ask for a letter and copy of your records. I'd explain what it's for as well.

If it's better than 6/12, then you probably do need to see an ophthalmologist for a report. Nystagmus is quite complex and can cause other symptoms in people which would make driving difficult, such as being very sensitive to light or having to turn their head to a certain position to reduce the level of nystagmus - which in turn would reduce visual field.

HTH

Surely an optician could provide you with this report
Make an appointment

Thanks for the input everyone, I really appreciate it. First port of call, I think is the optician then I'll probably just get the opthamology report, maybe see if my work private health insurance might contribute to it. It will come in handy when we start talking about child contact and handovers. I don't want to leave anything to chance.

You'll have to post the precise wording from the court order if you want a sensible answer. Anonymise it of course.