Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a disorder of abnormal retinal vascular development unique to preterm infants, and one of the leading causes of preventable childhood blindness worldwide (1,2). Foundation doctors rotating through neonatal units, paediatrics or ophthalmology will often encounter it, and an adequate understanding supports safe handover, informed conversations with parents, and recognition of when urgent ophthalmic referral is needed. This article gives a brief, practical overview of ROP's pathophysiology, screening and treatment for a foundation doctor audience.

Roughly one in twenty-five emergency department attendances involves an ocular problem, and most of these patients are first assessed not by an ophthalmologist but by resident clinicians covering the acute take. Resident doctors are therefore well placed to detect serious eye disease, not because of specialist training but because of where they sit in the system. The argument developed here is that the limiting factor at that point of entry is rarely diagnostic knowledge. It is timescale, and whether the clinician who sees the patient first can identify the correct escalation route. The resident doctor does not need to be an ophthalmologist. They need to know which clock the patient is on, and to refer before it runs out.

Anterior uveitis is a condition in which there is inflammation of the anterior structures of the uvea – the iris and ciliary body. The most common presentation is acute anterior uveitis (AAU), with presenting symptoms of rapid-onset pain, photophobia and red eye, which is most commonly unilateral. On slit-lamp examination, inflammatory cells must be present in the anterior chamber to diagnose AAU. There may also be flare, hypopyon, keratic precipitates and posterior synechiae.

A patient on the ward with heart block is prescribed timolol eye drops. Another patient taking oral acetazolamide develops paraesthesia and is found to have worsening renal function. Later that week, you are asked to prescribe antibiotic drops for a red eye. How confident are you that you know what to prescribe – and what to look out for?