To not want to pay for DS Eye Test

[ineedsomeinspiration]

DS (7) got his first glasses in September after reported his school work was jumping around the page. He'd never complained before and had been doing well at school. It turned out he needed a strongish prescription and to wear glasses all the time. Had a hospital referral to check prescription and for lazy eye. All good and told next check this September.

However this last week or so he's been complaining of his work jumping and describing what seems like double vision. I of coursed phoned the Opticians as presumed first point of call would be to get his eyes checked again rather than GP. I've made an appointment but been told as he's not due his NHS eye test till September if his prescription doesn't need changing then I'll have to pay £25.

NHS website seems to suggest you can have a free eye test earlier than scheduled if deemed clinically necessary. Surely a 7yo boy complaining of weird vision would deem an eye test clinically necessary? I'll pay it if I have to because I want to make sure he's OK but they'd be plenty of people who couldn't and may not take their child as result. Although I'm sure DS is fine surely these in some could be symptoms of something more serious than the wrong glasses?

Would you pay if asked or kick up a fuss?

Hi, i’m an optometrist. You don’t need to pay for an eye test if your child is complaining of sight problems, even if his prescription hasn’t changed.

The receptionist is clearly confused. The optometrist will just annotate the sight test voucher with a special code and make a note on his records.

Lifeandbeans that's interesting. I have noticed he is reluctant to read to me and do spellings at home but then that may be down to laziness. At school however he always works hard and tries at everything.
DS mentioned it happened in maths so I'll find out what they were doing. it may be there were lots of written questions.

Oh and things like Irlens don’t just suddenly appear.

Thanks underneaththeash so if they do say I need to pay would you question it?

underneaththeash the reason I took him for an eye test originally was he was complaining of text jumping. He hasn't had it for a while that he's said but has started mentioning it again the last month or so. Do you think it's more likely his prescription then?

My daughter had a test for Irlens when she was 7. The coloured overlays helped her reading for a while, but she is ten now and says she doesn't need them and that the words don't jump around any more. I guess she now has different strategies.

And DD has perfect vision, Irlens is a brain function thing rather than sight, but some opticians can test for it.

This seems odd. My grandson has his eyes every 3 months because children's eyes can change a lot quite quickly. He is never charged.

I would go back to the eye hospital. My DD had double vision around the time she first needed glasses, and I wasn't anything to do with the prescription. She was given a ruler type tool to look at in front of her with a bit that moved forward and back thing and exercises to 'train' her eyes to focus. They said it was a separate issue to her glasses.

I am sorry but eyes are your most precious thing, if anything goes wrong you can go blind and just won’t see again ever. Quit moaning about £25 and get the eyes seen to by your optician who knows the history.

Chloemol thats kind of my point. I will pay £25 because I can afford it (just about) and I will pay it as both my son and his eyes are very precious but there must be a hell of a lot of other people who can't afford it and would not go to the appointment in case they were charged.

As a kid my eyes got bad very very fast. I literally had to go every couple of months and frequently needed a new prescription. Change optician!

OP -speak to them again, say that you’ve spoken to an Optometrist and as your son is having problems with his visual, they have confirmed that he is entitled to an early Re-test. The GOS form just needs to be a annotated with code 3.2 or 3.3 depending on the outcome of the eye examination. 3.2 is the code for early Re-test with a change in prescription and 3.3 is the code for presenting with visual problems with no change in prescription.
(There are further codes depending on whether they refer too.)

PS if you’re getting no-where do PM me and i’ll Give them a call for you.

Sorry haven't rtft, don't have time but incase someone hasn't already mentioned this, from your fist post it sounds like visual stress. You should be able to find some info about it online. My son was tested for it and I know of another boy who was tested for the same as he complained of exactly what your DS is complaining about.

This seems odd. My grandson has his eyes every 3 months because children's eyes can change a lot quite quickly. He is never charged

Which is great. Except the optician is charging the NHS and therefore we are all paying.

I think, sadly, this is where all NHS care will end up. As other PP's have said, there has to be a cut off somewhere, and obviously opticians, and the public, have been taking advantage somewhere along the line. I think it is reasonable to implement a clinical need criteria for free healthcare outside of the normal parameters. It shouldn't put anyone off, as they will not be charged if the visit was really needed. I suppose the added problem with children is that they will often say something is wrong, when it really isn't. It's a tough one to call.

My son was on 3 monthly tests at that stage - then 6 months . We never made it that long , there was always a reason , like you describe, to go back . It was never questioned and I was never charged.

I should also say my son has always needed a new prescription .

As other PP's have said, there has to be a cut off somewhere, and obviously opticians, and the public, have been taking advantage somewhere along the line

Could you cite the evidence that the public and opticians been abusing children's eye tests?

Or the clinical evidence that says young children with glasses don't benefit from regular checks?

as underneaththeash says
they would be able to code under early retest reason code 3.2 or 3.3
in your place I would go to an independent opticians, the high street chains are not the best for 'non-standard prescriptions'.
most, but not all, children with a 'high' first rx would be under a 6 month call back, but we see here a lot of HES (Hospital Eye Service)
patients being out on 12 month call backs, when it would appear they need seeing more often.
bloomburger - you say you were charged even though the child was referred to the hospital - this should have been a NHS test coded on the form as a 3.1 = early retest resulting in referral to a medical practitioner.
moving words, letters, etc is 1 of the most common signs of Irlens syndrome and you should be able to get this tested at an independent optician, but they will charge for the test, and any overlays as needed. If the overlays work then another test can be carried out - a colorimeter test - this works to a much more specific blend of colour and can then be put into a lens (either with , or without, a corrective prescription), however the lenses are quite expensive, around £125-£140 and the NHS do not cover the cost. They are made in the UK, and do not have to be ordered from America at a cost of circa £300 as so many 'chains' try to suggest.
Good Luck, an

I often see vouchers offering free eye tests....Boots and others....
Might be worth researching

Another one here with a child with visual stress - same symptoms as your son. Mine complained he struggled with reading because the words wouldn't stay still. Coloured overlays and lenses helped hugely, but we had to pay for the initial testing.

I'm sure it sounds like Irlens.

Dd has this yet has perfect vision.

At the age of 11 she had the reading age of an average 16 year old so don't let a good reading level confuse things.

Irlens is not something that should be tested by an optician, some do offer it but the lenses are not great; you need to see a specialist. The University of Wrexham has an amazing Irlens testing centre.

It's not a cheap process with the lenses being made in America and costing around £200. You do get them free though when at university as it's classed as a disability.

Dd not only has words swimming round but they are in rainbow colours.

The image hopefully attached she photoshopped to show what she sees, you can find other more common examples on line.

My dd (16) wears glasses and is on 6 monthly recall because in 2018 she had to have her glasses prescription changed 4 times. She wasn't charged as a change in prescription is clinical need.

Quite frankly, if you can afford to pay you should. Taking free treatment from the NHS when you can afford to pay is the reason why it’s so shit and the reason why it has to be rationed. By not paying for appointments you can pay for you’re indirectly preventing people who can’t afford to pay having extra appointments they need 🤷‍♀️