DS 3.5 has to have glasses, come and talk to me.

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

Have been a little upset about it, especially as the local PCT has a huge waiting list to get her prescription. Have managed to get her an appointment for next week with a differenct PCT.

Just wondering really how much they cost, how the voucher system works and how to get her to wear them.

there should a be a choice of free frames or you can pay a little extra for other ones. DD had the free frames for years and we have only recently started paying for others - it was an extra £29 for Hannah Montana frames last year and £25 for some trendy ones with lilac and white checks on the arms from this years prescription.

The orthoptist should give you the prescription on a form and then you take the form to an optician of your choice and try on frames until you find ones that suit and then they will get the glasses made up for you. DD's optician takes about 3-4 days to get the completed glasses back and then I take her to get them fitted properly and pay any extra charge for the frames. DD's glasses get thinned for free at her current optician but the last one charged £10 to do it.

I don't understand about waiting lists - I took my DCs to a normal opticians and they had free eye tests on the NHS. DS2 (then 6) needed glasses as he is slightly short sighted. He and DH chose the free frames in the shop and they came the next week. We are in London, if that makes any difference

are you waiting for a referral to the hospital orthoptist? Some opticians may deal with young children but others dont and would refer instead of doing the tests themselves

My eldest got his glasses at 4 having been picked up by HV preschool screening. The hospital gave us the eyesight prescription (most of the opticians won't test the under 5's. We took the glasses prescription to our local specsavers and had a fantastic childrens range of glasses. He is 7 now and the glasses have corrected his vision and he no longer needs them.

If she picks them herself she will want to wear them

A huge waiting list for a prescription doesn't sound right to me. DD had a preschool eye test at the health centre and was referred to the optometrist at the hospital. She had her eyes tested there and we were given a prescription straight away. The only wait we had was after being referred from the health centre.

We just took the prescription to an optician and selected a frame from the free ones available. I see no point in paying for frames for a three year old as there is plenty of choice. DD is ten now and a bit more conscious of her looks so I did pay for her last frames, but it was only about £10 because they were subsidised by the NHS anyway.

TBH the waiting list thing really pissed me off. She had a 3.5 year check at the local Health Centre where they said she would need glasses, but then said she would need to be seen at a different Health Centre and there is a huge wait. Luckily, we live on a county border and the next county operate a different system so have managed to get an appointment to get her prescription much quicker with them.

Thanks for all the replies, especially about getting her to choose the frames and how much to pay.