Eye test that didn't spot my glaucoma help needed..

Nakedcash

Hi, I am wondering if anyone can help me with my problem. I was recently diagnosed with glaucoma and 4 weeks prior to this I had an eye test at Vision Express and they didn't pick up that I had a problem. My doctor referred me to the hospital after I told him I had lost some sight and the consultant told me that it was obvious that there is damage to my optic nerve. He was very surprised that it had not been picked up by VE. Not only that but I have high pressure in both eyes and for that to cause sight loss you need to have it for some time. I had a test with them in Autumn of last year and if I did have glaucoma then they didn't pick it up at that time either. If they had I might not have had the sight loss happen at all.
I am going to write to complain but can anyone give me some advice about how to proceed. What should I expect VE to do. I feel very distressed by the whole thing so hope someone can give me some advice as I feel a bit lost. It is wrong isn't it?
Thanks.

Freddie_Snowbits

My optician tests for pressure in the eye using a squirty air kind of thing, did you have this when you were tested? Also, he should have looked in using a light scope at all angles of your eye, when the room was dark Did this happen.

Also, sounds a bit rude, but was this your first visit to an optician?

themull1

Glaucoma test is the air squirt in the eye, have you had one of these before?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

My optician tests for it. He sent the Bloke to the hospital for tests as he wasn't 100% happy about what he saw, did the pressure test and didn't like the results.

Turns out he's fine, but my point is that the individual optician did all this for him even without any issues with eyesight. But the chain opticians can't even notice that I have astigmatism, never mind anything else.

I would never use one of the chains again.

tanith

I think it might be more the fault of the optician than a chain, my husband had a free eyetest in Tesco and they sent him straight to his GP with a letter regarding Glaucoma it turned out ok but I really think its down to the person doing the testing to be more vigilant. Sorry you had such a bad outcome

themull1

there is an ombudsman like you get for solicitors but for opticians. ive been with VE fro twenty years and never had probs with them picking up high cholesterol and eye ulcers. Ours are good opticians tho.!

nedmundo

I think it is impossible to comment on this case without being in possession of all the facts.

There are too many variables and possibilities as to why this may have happened.

Nakedcash

Hi thank you all for replying. I did have the squirty air pressure thing at VE. I had a visual field test and I can't remember anything else except she asked me to read huge letters with only my left (bad) eye and I couldn't see them because the blind part got in the way. I also purchased the photo of the back of my eyes and on one of the photos my left retina was much paler than the right. When I asked her about this she said it was nothing and when I asked why she thought I had lost the sight in my left eye she said she had no idea. This was my second eye test with VE. Before this I had a few eye exams at a hospital in 2005 because I suffer with migraine. They said there was nothing wrong with my eyes then.
I feel cross with VE because I trusted them. They are supposed to have a commitment to protect the health of our eyes. If they are just there to sell designer glasses then that is what they should do, not mislead us into thinking our eyesight is safe when it isn't.
I won't use a chain again. But I just spoke to a friend of mine about a private optometrist nearby and she said that she went to him because he was supposed to be very good. She had noticed a shadow moving across her sight. He said it was migraine and to go home and forget about it. A week later she was in hospital having an operation for a detached retina so you can't always trust the private people either.
I am going to post my letter of complaint tomorrow and see what VE have to say for themselves.
Best regards,
Naked:rotfl::rotfl:

Nakedcash

My number one concern is that I had a full eye test with them where I was not told I had glaucoma four weeks before seeing a consultant who told me that I had damage to my optic nerve and eye pressure within my eyes. He said it was very hard to miss and was very shocked when I told him I had an eye exam four weeks before and it wasn't picked up. The second is that he said that open angle glaucoma is a slowly developing condition so I am concerned that VE hadn't picked it up in my eye test of 2009 either. If they had of done I would have started the treatment earlier and may not of experienced the sight loss at all. It's pointless of them to say they are committed to eye health when they missed the most common cause of blindness in the world. But I will put this to them.

hannahO_2

Nakedcash,

What are you expecting to achieve at the end? A letter of apologies from VE? A compensation £? To make a complaint to ombusman? All takes different actions. Perhaps trip to CAB may also give you extra adivce that you need.

**curlywurly**

Consider contacting the General Optical Council - http://www.optical.org/ - as far as I am aware, they deal with complaints against opticians.