NHS and Opticians

Can someone please explain what NHS covers for opticians, glasses and/or contact lenses?  Hubby can't see and needs to go in to get new contacts, and we were wondering what NHS will cover.

Thanks!

I'm no expert but I didn't think the NHS covered opticians or glasses/contacts. Then again, I've never asked.

I have terrible vision and rely heavily on my contacts/glasses but I've always just paid the optician myself and luckily my employer re-pays up to £20 per year for vision tests.

That just leaves the contacts which I buy mailorder as it's *much* cheaper. I can recommend Postoptics if you're looking for a cheaper solution than buying from the optician. I've used them for years with excellent service.

Hope that helps!

That just leaves the contacts which I buy mailorder as it's *much* cheaper. I can recommend Postoptics if you're looking for a cheaper solution than buying from the optician. I've used them for years with excellent service.

Got a website for this company?  I suppose I could also just Google it!  I'm all for finding a cheaper way to buy contacts!

Got a website for this company?  I suppose I could also just Google it!  I'm all for finding a cheaper way to buy contacts!

It's just http://www.postoptics.co.uk if you haven't found it already and I think they're fantastic! I wear the monthly disposables and when I first bought them from Boots, they were £30 for 3 months...from postoptics it is £35 for 6 months and £59 for 12 months! And you get free postage if you buy, I think, at least 6 months supply of lenses. There's also offers of free postage when you buy quantities of solutions too (which are also well cheaper!)    I wind up buying my lenses and all the solutions/saline I think I'd need all in one go so the free postage comes in handy.

The only difficulty you may have is finding a optician who will not require you to buy lenses from them first before they will give you the prescription...which is a sore topic for me because I think it's highway robbery as you've already paid for their service and the prescription should then belong to you.

But anyway, the website has a list of "friendly" opticians that will work with them with no problems.  I know that Boots requires you to buy from them first but I've found that my local Specsavers no longer supplies my normal brand of lenses (cibavision) so I just told them I have no desire to switch brands to their substitute so they just gave me the prescription.

I don't usually gush over online shops but I'd be amazed if you didn't save A LOT of money with them!

 Ta so much lynne for the information about this service

 It will help both  me and my daughter now,since she has started wearing contacts as well

Thanks Lynne!  It's a huge peeve of mine as well that opticians make you buy contacts from them.  At home in California, opticians by law may withhold the prescription and make you buy contacts from them.  ARRGH!

Thanks Lynne!  It's a huge peeve of mine as well that opticians make you buy contacts from them.  At home in California, opticians by law may withhold the prescription and make you buy contacts from them.  ARRGH!

Same here in Texas. So I end up paying almost double what I could get them for through the mail or at somewhere like Walmart.

My optician was the same in Pennsylvania too but I had been with him for about 15 years so he would wind up charging me only like $20 for the eye exam because the contacts through the store he was linked to were so expensive.

Definitely check out the list of friendly opticians though as there may be one near you.  As I said, I lucked out and the Specsavers branch near me doesn't carry my brand anymore. And I think I may have frightened the optician with my firm but friendly stance that he was not going to force me into changing brands just to get my prescription from them.  [smiley=furious.gif]

I do see on the list that Viewpoint is their parent company and it's based in York so I may just go there for my prescription next time.  

Hope you all have as good an experience using them as I have enjoyed.