AIBU to object to relentless upselling at my child's NHS eye test?

It’s not a chain thing. I take my DC to a local independent and have had exactly the same upselling. We got talked into those ortho k lenses which was a disaster for my son, not needed, wasted so much time and was incredibly expensive.

I always paid for those extra £25 scans but only because I have Simply health through work and could claim most of it back.

once they’re too old for free NHS test I’ll be going elsewhere. Or rather they’ll be taking themselves elsewhere and I’ll probably have to pay for it while they’re students, no idea what they’ll be entitled to.

The staff are lovely though and have replaced my son’s broken NHS glasses many times. The owner is the up seller. Really dislike him.

Our local Specsavers is brilliant - no upselling and they take stuff back for ditching or reglazing without batting an eyelid - I took a pair back because I did not like the reactolite lenses I had ordered and they simply took them back, put in non-reactive and refunded my the difference! - and these were expensive varifocal high index lenses!

I thought it would be Boots - they did this to me - though worst was when we were half way home frame chosen by DD2 did not actually come under NHS so had to head back in and sort.

It's put me off going and I do need to.

Used to do specsavers but branch here was awful about booking appointments and then accuse me of not paying when I had - literally walked to the till -and went in to prove it. gave up and tried boots as next ones in center.

@Eyetestconcern100% agree with the locum optometrist above.

The NHS eye test was brought in after WWII to test sight and get desperately needed NHS glasses to those without.

An eye test has now moved into a more healthcare sphere and technology has advanced .
The eye is the organ in the body where the there is a non invasive view of the brain through the optic nerve appearance and view of the general vascular system health through the retinal vessels. So looking at eye health is looking at more than the health of the eye. Hence why a GP may look in your eye sometimes.

The photo of the eye is normally fine for a child, unless there are concerns, whereas an OCT scan involves the optometrist looking at individual structural health of the nerve and central retina for the extra charge.
The big companies require their support staff to offer the scans at the pre tests stage, but it’s fine to decline and ask the optometrist if they recommend it.

Myopia control glasses have to be talked about by optometrists as their professional body considers not to do so is negligent. As 1 in 2 children are becoming myopic they are looking at evidence based practice to slow down the amount of myopia in most children.
I’m very myopic so my risk of eye diseases has been higher- my children are a lot less, so their risk is lower.
Ocumetra is just a recording tool to put data from the eye test visits in to predict future myopia development. It gives a link to share with the parent on their phone from the QR code to the information and studies - doesn’t cost anything.

The flannel is ok but doesn’t work well and the eye bag is better. I’ve got the same issue and as the previous poster said it’s impossible to keep it warm enough for the recommended 5 minutes.

Opticians get paid less than dentists for their time doing NHS work, but there has always been private aspects to their work such as selling glasses.
Online retailers don’t have to subsidise the cost of providing NHS tests and paying staff and can therefore sell glasses cheaper (not to under 16s). But if the public moves to all buying online glasses then the NHS sight test may become limited (like dentists) and private eye tests will be more expensive.

You shouldn’t feel sold to, but you should be given options and the NHS is there for the basic requirement provision.

We are lucky to have the NHS and you will get good care within it but it’s important that you know there are things the NHS can’t cover, but that may still individually be recommended.
I’m sorry the situation felt like being sold to rather than explained to.
I’d ask to speak to the optometrist where you choose to go before your dc’s next test and mention your concerns with this visit and hopefully have a much more positive future experience.

Makes no difference. My local independent was a child vision specialist and we chose her for that. She also relentlessly upsold, steering us towards the more expensive frames, suggesting add ons to treatment. If anything it was worse because we trusted her as a “specialist”.

The extra photo (3d scan) does indeed give a ton more information about eye health than the standard NHS photo. It is entirely optional but if a diagnosis is missed because you declined to have the scan then you can't really blame the optician?

This is a child's eyesight we are talking about - if there's a chance of missing a serious problem with the NHS offering, the NHS offering should be upgraded.

Frankly, this makes it sound like a 'get out' clause for the optician.

SS have been good for the kids. We've never been asked about the scan (they do ask for me) and have never mentioned other glasses other than the free ones even though my son has a big head and they are struggling to find some that fit. They've mentioned myopia management in the past but in passing and gave me a leaflet.
We actually went to an independent as my son needed a visual stress test and they did a poor job (had to have it repeated elsewhere) but spent an hour talking to me ahout myopia management and trying to sell me a subscription at £50 per month!
The next time we went to SS we bought theirs for £100 and they have slowed down the progression.

My DS has the myopia management contact lenses. We didn’t know about this as an option til he was about 12 or so, and I wish we’d known sooner. We are lucky that we can afford to pay for them, but the evidence for them is really good. As the locum ophthalmologist has already said, it’s terrible that this is bit offered on the NHS.

I always take kids to Specsavers and recognise this. You should have to DD you could only afford the free frames. You need to use your words here.

If your child doesn’t even need glasses then why would they try to sell you some 🤔

we go to Specsavers and if anything they were steering my child away from expensive glasses

My youngest has worn glasses since he was 3 years old (he is 9 now). We have never experienced this. The eye test has always been 'free' on the NHS. I pay extra for lens thinning as his prescription is strong, and we pick whichever glasses he likes but that's my choice and not theirs. Never felt pressured for more. This is a high street optician.

Local specsavers is great. Took my daughter to an independent optician who was highly recommended and they persuaded me that she needed some super expensive lenses. Because her eyesight is so poor I bought them in the hope it would help. When she went back to the hospital for a check up, they told me that was completely ridiculous and there was no way a child needed those lenses. Back to Specsavers for us!

Why are you going every 6 months? That is quite unusual, normally a year or even every other year.

We go to a local independent. DC is usually shown the free or non expensive frames first, both childrens and adults.
The optician previously told me about the lenses that can slow progression, but no one has pushed me into getting them or mentioned cost. I think they are monitoring the progression first.

I’ve had much more upselling at independents than at chains

And others have had good experiences. It’s individual to each store!

No because others have said the same and they weren't the same branches.

Equally you might just be unlucky with yours!

with it being a franchise there is always going to be a variation but I would recommend our branch to anyone locally.

I've had a really good experience at my local specsavers both for myself (almost blind as a bat) and my dc. But it is a franchise I believe so the quality might be variable.

I went undiagnosed as a child as my mum didn't get me tested until I was bumping into things, so I was determined to get my kids checked ASAP. My local specsavers managed to test my dd when she'd just turned 3, even though she didn't know her ABC.

The test used little symbols like cat, aeroplane, apple instead of letters. The optician was so fab with her and it's a really fond memory. At her last checkup it was a borderline, watch and wait conclusion, with lifestyle recommendations (ie limit screens etc) no upselling at all.

I had the same at nhs dentist recently. They tired to insist that if I don't sort slightly crooked teeth now I'll be doomed in later life. Plus teeth whitening, special coating, better toothbrush etc.

My teeth are a bit crowded but ok, no fillings etc. It hasn't been mentioned as a problem previously!

If you have the prescription could you just buy online

Asda every day! Been with them 25 years. Excellent care and best prices.

My optician is like this, my NHS dentist is even worse - invisalign, whitening, let’s drill your filling out and replace it, hygienist, on and on.

I live in a coastal town. They tried selling us a special film on the lenses of my 9yo daughter (rockpooling obsessed) prescription sunglasses which would allow her the see through the surface water without the glare!