A familiar part of the map
I trained in Bournemouth. Ophthalmology specialty training in the Wessex Deanery took me through the Royal Bournemouth Hospital as well as Portsmouth, Southampton and Salisbury. That is the same rotation that most Wessex ophthalmologists know, and it is why this page exists: east Dorset is not a new catchment invented for search, it is a place I have already worked.
I do not currently hold an NHS clinic in Bournemouth. Private consultations and the operations on the published price list run from Medicana Winchester, about 45 minutes from the town on the A31, at Chilcomb Park on the eastern edge of Winchester. From Ringwood, Ferndown or Wimborne it is closer. From Poole and Christchurch it is still usually shorter than the run through to Portsmouth.
NHS appointments, and the regional work that depends on the joint lacrimal clinic, the periocular oncology multidisciplinary team and the orbital service, stay at Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth.
When Portsmouth is still the right place
Queen Alexandra is around an hour from Bournemouth on the A31 and M27, leaving at junction 12 for Cosham. The hospital sits on the northern edge of Portsmouth just off the A27, so there is no city centre driving.
Portsmouth runs the largest oculoplastic service in the region: three consultant oculoplastic surgeons, more than any other unit nearby, and over a thousand new referrals a year. We hold the only joint periocular oncology multidisciplinary team meeting in the region, and the only joint lacrimal clinic, with the highest volume endoscopic lacrimal service and weekly operating lists that I lead.
If you have a watering eye that has already had one operation, an eyelid cancer sitting awkwardly near the tear duct, or thyroid eye disease that needs more than one specialty thinking about it, that is the difference worth driving for.
What I treat
- Watery eye assessment and scarless endoscopic tear duct surgery, plus external DCR where it is the better option
- Thyroid eye disease, including orbital decompression
- Eyelid skin cancer excision and reconstruction
- Ptosis correction for a drooping upper eyelid
- Upper eyelid surgery and lower eyelid surgery
- Entropion and ectropion repair
Getting here from Bournemouth
For Medicana Winchester, take the A31 east toward Winchester and leave for Chilcomb Lane. The clinic is at Chilcomb Park, SO21 1HU, on the eastern edge of the city, so there is no city-centre driving. Allow about 45 minutes from Bournemouth outside peak times, and closer to 35 from Ringwood. Free on-site parking is available.
For Queen Alexandra Hospital, stay on the A31 onto the M27 east and leave at junction 12 for Cosham. The hospital is at PO6 3LY, just off the A27. Allow around an hour outside peak times. Parking is multi-storey on site with accessible bays at the main entrances.
What the NHS funds here
Bournemouth, Poole and most of east Dorset are commissioned by NHS Dorset, not Hampshire, so travelling does not change who pays. What is funded for a drooping lid, excess upper-lid skin or lid malposition is decided by your integrated care board. Rather than guess from a neighbouring policy, type your postcode into the map. Skin cancer surgery is funded everywhere; purely cosmetic eyelid surgery is funded almost nowhere.
Arranging an appointment
Private appointments are arranged through my secretary, Gina Stacey, or you can book a time online. A referral letter is helpful but not essential for self funding patients, and insured patients will need a referral plus a pre-authorisation code. I am recognised by Aviva, Allianz, Alliance Healthcare, Bupa and Vitality.
For NHS care, speak to your GP or optometrist about whether a referral to the eye department at Queen Alexandra Hospital is straightforward from your practice.