Guidance

Diabetic eye screening: slit lamp biomicroscopy examiner framework

Training and accreditation process for people who conduct slit lamp biomicroscopy (SLB) in the NHS diabetic eye screening (DES) programme.

• From: NHS England
• Published: 31 March 2016
• Last updated: 29 April 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 29 April 2026

     A minor change of wording under the "Grader" and "Optometrist" sections to not be too specific about unit names, both sections now hold a link that refers the reader to the new rules of combination table, which has also recently been updated

  2. 17 October 2024

     Added clarification that publication was previously published by Public Health England. Changed lead organisation.

  3. 1 October 2020

     Replaced PDF version with HTML version.

  4. 31 March 2016

     First published.

Documents

Slit lamp biomicroscopy examiner training and accreditation framework

HTML

Slit lamp biomicroscopy examiner record of competency proforma

ODT, 7.89 KB

This file is in an OpenDocument format

Details

Staff that perform a clinical role within a local diabetic eye screening (DES) service must be:

• appropriately trained
• assessed for competence
• reviewed regularly

Slit lamp examiners (SLEs) should:

• receive continuous feedback on their decisions
• attend multidisciplinary team meetings