to think Boots Opticians could mention 'the rules' in a letter

[LisasCat]

Apparently 'the rules' say that they can't give out a prescription of contact lenses if your sight test is overdue. So perhaps they could mention that in the letter they send, reminding me that my sight test is overdue. Or they could mention it in the telephone message saying that my contact lenses are now in stock if I'd like to pick them up.

Either way, would it kill them to mention it to the 8 month pregnant woman who has a 50 minute round trip by foot to get into town to pick up the aforementioned sodding contact lenses, which she is then not going to be allowed to collect because of 'the rules'!

And before you ask, I didn't book my sight test because in my previous pregnancy my sight was all over the place, so I was waiting until the baby is born and my vision settles down. Otherwise, it strikes me as bloody pointless to have a sight test now anyway.

So apologies to the poor 18 year old lad on the front desk who had to deal with the crying hormonal woman, but perhaps tell head office not to be twats with their communication next time.

it is what we are told. chipotle. i did use the word, apparently.
we are told we absolutely not able to give them out by law.

it would my life a load easier to ship out lenses to all regardless, home delivery? even better! and if you want a check up, have one! if you dont, and you lose your sight. bad luck. your fault entirely. not my problem kiddo.
unfortunately our big old bosses do not share that opinion. nor would the patients no win no fee lawyers rubbing their hands in glee i assume. so, we do as we are told and suffer the lovely consequences. joy.

And incidentally I don't buy into the crap of it being an infection preventative measure. Surely it would be safer to provide me with the new lenses I have paid for while I wait 3 weeks for my aftercare instead of forcing me to wear an old pair for an extra 3 weeks? No?

It's not law... Your employers are having a laugh. It's policy, not law!

In all seriousness I can't see how they'd be able to legally dispense online if that were the case.

believe what you will. i have seen the pictures in our big book of gross things that can happen to your eyes. i know what the misuse of contact lenses can cause. i have even seen it personaly. you could just google it im sure. i and every opticians employee knows the facts and the realities. patients will enevitably think they know better, but they dont, we do, and that is why there are rules, to stop people taking risks we know exist but patients refuse to believe are real. its not a conspirisy. it is what it is.
and also no one want to be sued.
if people dont like the service regular opticians provide, take responsibility for your own eye care, buy off the tinterweb and take the risk that you dont think are real. it really doesnt matter to us.

I'm not arguing that wearing contact lenses can give you eye infections etc... Answer my question then on why it's preferable to make me wear old lenses for an extra 3 weeks whilst I wait for an appointment instead of providing me with new lenses that I've paid for?

I got a corneal abrasion under the care of a High Street optician.

I am much happier taking responsibility for my own eye care.

I would recommend it - particularly if High Street Opticians do have a very "silly old you, we know best, you are stupid and we don't really care but would rather not get sued" attitude to your health which isn't always backed up by actually listening to their patients when they say there is something wrong and having a proper look, but instead telling them they are "not due a check" and to come back in 3 months.

Proper Opthamologist for me.

Specsavers have the same poliy. Hpowever, tbf to them, all their paperworl does say that tis is the case pretty clearly. I get annual reminder letters for sight tests which also reiterate the fact.

Do you reckon Optician Receptionists go to the same "finishing school" as Doctors Receptionists?

Actually whilst I'm ranting at my last aftercare my optician insisted on removing my contact lenses for me... I told him I'd rather do it myself (I've been wearing contacts for 18years)... He said no he 'needed' to do it... I let him remove one eye, it took him about 2 mins and it bloody hurt... I whipped out the second lens in about 5 seconds before he could get his fingers into my other eye.

Specsavers did this to me last September and cancelled my lenses. I went in, had all the check ups and I still haven't had any lenses. Am thoroughly pissed off with them. Oh and they're procrastinating about giving me my prescription so I can't even buy them online. I bloody hate them.

Do you think that's a man thing Chipotle?

My husband makes such a bleeding song and dance at taking his contacts out. He needs like a football field's worth of elbow room and lots of huffing and puffing and grimacing and you would have thought he'd passed a kidney stone but no, he's got one of the little gelatinous feckers out.

Tatty... It might just be. My DH is hilarious with eyedrops, I normally have to do it for him but you'd think I was doing major surgery the way he behaves.

I would be annoyed too. I got fed up with the rigmarole of getting my lenses from the opticians. I've bought them online for years now! If you have an old packet of them and can see your prescription, just buy a replacement packet online. I get mine from contactlenses.co.uk. They turn up super quick.

They are correct in not supplying.Here's the professional legislation :

Opticians Act 1989
It is a contravention of the Opticians Act to supply powered contact lenses after the patient's specification has expired, practitioners should advise patients to have a contact lens fitting (aftercare) shortly before the expiration of the specification and an eye examination if appropriate.When an optician performs a contact lens check up they should be aware that if they are to reissue the patient's specification for the same or different contact lenses they are effectively fitting the patient with contact lenses as defined by the Opticians Act . Under the act a patient must not be supplied with contact lenses Unless they have an up to date (spectacle) prescription.

I'd ring their customer services : online phone number I've just googled is 0845 604 8420.They are a big company and should try sort things out as opticians normally send several automated reminders if you had a sight test or contact lens checkup due.

Can understand completely why you are upset but the 18 year old on the front desk was doing as he had been told correctly.

Gwendoline

As maytime has quoted the 1989 opticians act here is something else in the act that will be of interest to you

Actually, if your Optician is playing by the rules, you should already have a copy of your prescription if you have been fitted for a contact lens. Article 26 (2) of the UK Opticians Act 1989 effectively says that that all Opticians have a legal obligation to provide the patient with a signed written prescription once the fitting has been completed. This means that your Optician should have placed a copy of your prescription in your hand before you walked out of their practice regardless of whether you asked for it or not. The exact wording of the clause in the Opticians Act 1989 which you can quote to your Optician is:
?It shall also be his [your Optician?s] duty to give the person whose sight he has tested, immediately following the test, either a signed, written prescription for an optical appliance or a signed, written statement that he does not need to wear or use an optical appliance?. Article 26 (2), Opticians Act 1989

Islandlady,
Maybe they were procrastinating because the eye examination/contact lens checkup was out of date? A specification, as it says above ,can only be issued if these are up to date.
However, a specification should be issued on completion of fitting (which is normally after a month to three months of the initial fitting to check the eyes aren't suffering any adverse affects from contact lens wear) and then at the checkup when this specification expires (usually annual)the new specification should be issued with the relevant expiry date, so if an eye examination was due this should be taken into account on the expiry date of this specification.I would have expected therefore Gwendoline should already have had a copy from the last checkup,unless this had expired for the reasons above.

First opportunity to check back in, and I see I'm not the only one who's had a meltdown at their front desk. Just to clarify, I can completely understand their policy, and actually I agree with it and with those of you who work in the profession and are pointing out the potential dangers of not having check ups. But my two issues are

a) they need to make sure this is known in advance, and in this instance they had 2 opportunities to give me the message: in the letter reminding me my sight test was due and in the phone call telling me my lenses had arrived, and could be collected

b) there needs to be a little flexibility in this system given that during pregnancy vision often fluctuates and there's no point conducting a sight test at 8 months pg, knowing very well that the prescription is likely to change within weeks after the baby's born. I know sight tests are free during pregnancy and the first year, so it's not a cost issue, but it's the inconvenience of having to make two appointments so close together, knowing very well that the first one is a waste of time.

It seems odd that they order in the lenses before you have the test. Maybe it's just because I'm very short sighted, so they* don't stock my prescription as a matter of course but only order from their suppliers when I request them too, but they won't even place the order until the test is completed if it's due. For them, getting them in stock and then insisting I have a test would be a waste of their money, if my eyes had deteriorated.

*not Boots. I'm in Australia, it's law over here as well.

I've started to use Asda's opticians for my lenses etc after having a terrible time with trying to get a prescription from my old opticians. They (old opticians) fitted my lenses, gave me a months trial. I was going back to wearing lenses after a break of a year or so. Anyway - after months trial I asked them for my prescription, and they refused. They said that they wouldn't be happy for another optician to provide my lenses and that I would need to continue to trial with them for another 6 months!!!! They were charging about 4 times what Asdas do for lenses. Sod that for a laugh

So now I go to Asdas - but this has reminded me that both my sight test and lens check is overdue- must get it sorted this week!

Gin had EXACTLY the experience I had, which is why I use Asda now too. The Asda optician was great; helpful, not patronizing and was cheaper than my old optician. Were you using David Clueless as well, gin? If so, you may be me.

Islandlady- thanks for that opticians act ref. Very helpful. I see it refers to the eye TEST, not the eye fitting, too.

Boots did that to dh too, he was picking them up as we were going to a wedding so obviously didn't want to wear his mr magoo glasses and only has the daily ones for going out.

Don't have any issue with whatever law/polcies are in place just want to be told about it!

Lislanthus

It is the fitting as well as you get the lens prescription only after the fitting has been completed.