Children's Specialist Orthoptic and Optometry Eye Clinic in North London & Central London

Children's Specialist Orthoptic and Optometry Eye Clinics in North London and Central London

Gina Harris Specialist Orthoptist and Julie Broadbent Senior Optometrist run private children’s eye clinics in North London and Central London.

Both Gina and Julie have worked at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Trust for over 30 years.

They have extensive experience in assessing paediatric patients and working with children with special educational needs and disabilities including neurodivergent children with autism and ADHD.

They also run private children’s eye clinics at the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth and the Clementine Churchill Hospital in London.

Clinics also available on Saturdays.

What is An Orthoptist?

A specialist in children’s vision, detecting reduced vision in one or both eyes and assessing defects of eye movements, such as a squint. These defects may have an effect on a child’s long-term visual development.

What is an Optometrist?

A specialist who determines whether a child or baby requires glasses. A child of any age can be assessed, including those with special educational needs and disabilities.

Diagnosis and management of children’s eye conditions:

AMBLYOPIA

(Lazy eye) which is the most common visual disability in children. Treatment may include glasses and or patching .

SQUINTS

A misalignment of the eyes

Convergence Insufficiency

A condition that affects how the eyes work together at near and may cause difficulty when doing close work

Refractive Error

Uncorrected long sight (hypermetropia), short sight (myopia) and/or astigmatism can cause reduced vision in one or both eyes

ABNORMAL EYE MOVEMENTS:

These may be the result of injury or disease affecting the eye muscle or nerve which supplies the eye muscle or a physical obstruction to eye muscle movement

COLOUR BLINDNESS:

Colour vision testing to assess whether a child over the age of four years has colour deficiency

Treatment of eye conditions

Following the assessment, Gina and Julie will determine whether glasses and or patching are required. Convergence weakness can be treated with exercises

During the examination to determine the refractive error (glasses prescription) drops are used to dilate the pupils to assess the need for glasses and check the health of the eye.

Gina Harris – Specialist Orthoptist

S.R.O, D.B.O

Gina Harris is a Senior Orthoptist who has been practising with Moorfields Eye Hospital for over 30 years, having qualified from the School of Orthoptics (University of Sheffield) in 1991. Instrumental in setting up the Moorfields Outreach Clinics in both Potters Bar and Northwick Park Hospital, London, she continues to work consistently on the NHS as well as in private practice. Her clinical interests include paediatric and adult squint, amblyopia (especially in older children), ocular motility disorders (including double vision), and orthoptics for children with neurological or other systemic conditions and developmental delay. Gina has also worked in Australia where she mentored Orthoptic students at The University of Sydney. She currently works for Moorfields Eye Hospital (NHS and private), Clementine Churchill Hospital and Hospital of St. John & St. Elizabeth all in Central London.

Julie Broadbent – Senior Optometrist

Optometrist BSC (Hons) MCOptom, Prof Cert Paed Eye Care

Julie is a Senior Optometrist at Moorfields Eye Hospital. She joined the Optometry Department in 1991 and due to her interest in paediatric optometry was the first optometrist to work in an Orthoptic/Optometrist led Clinic at the Trust from 1996 onwards.

She has completed the College of Optometrists Professional Certificate in Paediatric Eye Care and her current clinical interests include the assessment of children and adults with special educational needs and disabilities. She practices in clinics with Gina in North London and Central London.

Reviews

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I was recommended to Gina as my 3 year old son was very long sighted. We found Gina to be extremely professional, knowledgeable & also incredibly patient which is of course very important when working with young children. Thank you Gina 🙏

I first met Gina 6 years ago, when my daughter was 3 and I was concerned she had a squint. After other Orthoptists were unconcerned, Gina really listened, reassured me and was supportive throughout the whole process, from diagnosis to treatment and follow-up appointments. I have found Gina to be patient, reliable, thorough, and caring and I feel lucky to have found her. Her experience meant we all felt in excellent hands and were confident with her answers and suggestions. I would not hesitate to recommend Gina and I am grateful for everything she has done for us.

Excellent experience with Gina and her colleague. Thorough, patient and clear. As a GP myself, I wanted to know all the details and hear all the clinical explanations— Gina definitely satisfied us on those counts. We came to her for a second opinion and a thorough examination, and we were really glad we did. I would unreservedly recommend Gina Harris.

I had a wonderful experience at the Orthoptist with my 8-year-old daughter. Gina and Julie were friendly and professional, making her feel at ease throughout the visit. Their approach helped alleviate any anxiety she had, and the service provided was exceptional. I highly recommend this optometrist for their excellent care and warm, welcoming environment.

Gina and Julie are, quite simply, absolutely brilliant. My 6yo son was diagnosed with an amblyopia (lazy eye). It turned out one of his eyes wasn’t seeing much at all. I was devastated to find this out so late, even more so when a reputable high street optician told me there was ‘nothing they could do for him, glasses won’t help him’. I found Gina and Julie while searching the internet and self-referred. Thank goodness I did. They are both experts at what they do and clearly love what they do They are patient, supportive, understanding and brilliant with kids. My son did get glasses in the end and they have changed his world. I’m incredibly grateful to Gina and Julie.

We started seeing Gina and Julie when our son was a little over 2 years old due to his squint. They are both very professional and friendly, making each visit fun and relaxed, whilst still achieving a dramatic reduction in his symptoms. He is now 8 and his squint is all but gone. Throughout the years, he has always happily gone to the checkups without any reticence or fear, and even seems to enjoy them. We highly recommend Gina and Julie!

I highly recommend Gina. We began seeing Gina over a year ago and have had regular appointments since. My young daughter is autistic with high anxiety and sensory processing difficulties. From the very beginning Gina immediately put her (and myself) at ease, took time to understand her needs and helped us work through some complex vision difficulties, going out of her way to do so. My daughter's vision has drastically improved with Gina's assistance and she eagerly looks forward to each appointment. Gina is highly knowledgeable, very professional and understanding and has a warm and caring personality. We cannot thank her enough for the help she has given my daughter and the care she has given in doing so.

Contact Us

Children's Private Orthoptic and Optometry Eye Clinic in North London and Central London

To find out more and for an informal chat, please contact Gina Harris

Tel: 07879 403 653

Email: gina@ginaharrisorthoptist.co.uk