Ophthalmology Clinic

Please sign up for a MyChart account, before your visit.

Our scheduling team will call you to schedule an appointment.

Missed Appointments & Late Cancellations
CHEO is committed to providing timely care for children, youth, and families. If this is your first appointment in a clinic or department and you miss two appointments without giving at least 48 hours’ notice, your referral will be returned to the care provider who submitted it. They can then follow up with you to confirm whether you still need or wish to proceed with the referral.

We understand life happens and unforeseen events come up. Please notify us as early as possible by calling 613-737-7600 x2222 — ideally at least 48 hours in advance — if you need to cancel or reschedule. This helps us offer the appointment to another family and keep wait times as short as possible. A cancellation 48 hours or more in advance will not count as a missed appointment.

The Ophthalmology Clinic is located in C-8. Your child's appointment may take up to three hours. Please arrive early to allow for any delays in parking and registration.

Please bring all of the following with you to your appointment:

• a valid health card for your child
• your child's most recently prescribed eyeglasses and/or eyeglass prescription
• a list of all your child's medications, including eye drops and pills — if possible, please bring the actual bottles or a list from the pharmacy
• the name of both your child's family physician/pediatrician and your child's optometrist/ophthalmologist
• any documentation (such photos, imaging, etc.) that you or your referring doctor feels will be helpful for us to understand the concerns with your child
• something for you and your child to do together while waiting in the clinic (books, paper and crayons, headphones, small quiet toys, and games) and consider bringing a snack and/or drink

Because CHEO is a teaching hospital you may be seen by a medical student, ophthalmology resident or ophthalmology fellow before an orthoptist or ophthalmologist. If you have received a call for a follow up visit or referral to the Eye Institute at the Ottawa Hospital, visit their website for more information.

Children and youth are seen by referral only. Patients can be referred by an ophthalmologist, pediatrician, family doctor, or optometrist.

After a referral is received, we will notify the referring Physician or Nurse Practitioner whether the referral has been accepted or denied. If accepted, we will provide an estimated wait time. This wait time can change based on demand and urgency. Once we have an appointment spot to offer, our Scheduling Team will reach you by phone to schedule an appointment.

• For any emergency, call 911. This includes emergencies involving your child’s Ophthalmology-related concerns.
• For current CHEO Ophthalmology Clinic patients, call your Nurse Case Manager or send a direct message to them through MyChart. This is not for urgent calls. Our nurses are here to give support, education and will work to coordinate your child’s care. It may take 3-5 days for us to get back to you (and sometimes longer during holidays). We will return the most serious calls first. Please avoid leaving multiple messages for the same issue.
• For patients who are waiting for their first visit with the Ophthalmology Clinic: Please do not call the nurses line if you have not yet been seen by a CHEO Ophthalmology Provider. Please call your family doctor, pediatrician or visit your nearest walk-in clinic for everything else.

Because of overwhelming demand, wait times for non-urgent consults can be delayed. Your referring provider can confirm that we have received your child's consult and can provide an estimated wait time.

Unfortunately, because of overwhelming demand, it is possible that follow up appointments can be behind schedule. You can contact our central booking center at 613-737-2222 or our ophthalmology clerk at 613-737-7600 ext. 2386.

You can contact our administrative assistant at 613-737-2235.

Vision therapy is not provided by CHEO. Please see the vision therapy statement from the Canadian Ophthalmological Society.

Orthoptists are certified eye care professionals who specialize in the non-surgical treatment of vision disorders. They assess, evaluate, and identify disorders particularly in the areas of strabismus and amblyopia. They work with the ophthalmologist responsible for your child's care. You are most likely to meet an orthoptist if your child has ocular motility problems.

An ophthalmologist is a fully licensed medical doctor who specializes in medical and surgical eye problems. Each CHEO eye clinic is held under the supervision of a staff ophthalmologist. They will assess and treat your child's eye condition and discuss a plan of care, order testing, surgery and more.
An optometrist is a health-care professional who provides primary eye care through eye examinations to detect and treat various visual abnormalities and eye diseases.

Urgent referral criteria:

• absent red reflex/leukocoria
• trauma
• vision-threatening infections/cellulitis

The referring practitioner must speak directly to the on-call ophthalmologist at 613-737-7600 x 0 to arrange an emergency ophthalmic consultation.

Non-urgent referral criteria: