Meet the NHS workers in an 'incredibly niche' role helping to protect the sight of people across the North East

NewsHealthRoyal Victoria Infirmary NewcastleMany readers may not have heard of orthoptists00:35, 03 Aug 2026Newcastle RVI orthoptists Lucy Ball and Jenny Earl(Image: ChronicleLive / Simon Greener)High up in the Royal Victoria Infirmary is the Claremont Wing, which has now celebrated its 30th birthday. There, there are doctors, nurses, optometrists and a whole range of additional professions. Among those people are the orthoptists.‌Orthoptics is a specialist branch of healthcare dedicated to assessing, diagnosing and treating conditions affecting our vision. This could be double vision in adults along with some of the typical issues that children face with their vision - including squints or lazy eyes.‌Two of the RVI's expert orthoptists, Lucy Ball and Jenny Earl, told ChronicleLive more ab