Unhelpful Opticians

kathyb1230

Hi Nedmundo
thanks for chipping in with your side of things - it's always good to hear that there are consciensious (sp?) people out there.
I should have made it clear, when I saw my optician, I had to call to make an appointment, luckily for the same day, so I had a good 30 mins in with her. I also paid for the privilege - only to be given what turned out to be inappropriate and potentially risky advice.

nedmundo

mark1024 wrote: »

OK well thanks for the info. If the optician had offered to do a full examination of her eye she probably would have been happy to pay. She was becoming more than a little worried at that point. It was the blank unconcerned manner of the 'its £35 for a standard eye test' which was unhelpful. It certainly gave the impression one had entered a retailer rather than sought the advice of a health professional. But if the situation is as you describe then I'm not surprised the receptionists turn people away. Its a strange world when an 'optically' unqualified pharmacist will proffer an opinion of an eye condition, and not worry about being sued.

Like I said, unless things have changed recently, in Spain she would have been seen. I'm also used to visiting the optician very regularly due to side effects of medication, after my GPs advice.

Thanks for at least explaining the situation.

I think what the case highlights is how poor my profession as a whole is when it comes to communicating what we do and why. Commercialism and professionalism don't always mix too well! That's why as I for one always keep clear of the former, whenever possible.:cool:

emmajon

I cannot believe that your other half was literally turned away. Like another post, my OH was suffering from very painful eye problems, his eyes were blood shot - in the end his boss sent him to local A & E department - who told him it was a very bad case of conjungtivitus - they gave him some drops and sent him away. A few days later the problem was getting worse, so he took himself off to the opticians who were horrified that the hospital had diagnosed him with conjungtivitus - as it was actually a corneal ulcer. This apparently can be very serious and is one of the common reasons people can lose their sight! I was furious, and apparently now he's had such a bad corneal ulcer his eye is scarred - and is now more likely to get it again. We now have to be very aware and monitor his eyes, he's also given up the contact lenses as these seemed to be irritating him. So in our case it was the optician who got it right, and thankfully he did.

mark1024

I'm glad the optician was able diagnose the problem. I guess there are good and poor professionals in every walk of life. At least nedmundo explained the legal situation about eye examinations. Unsurprisingly we are going to stick to Moorfields eye hospital if either of us have problems in the future, but also look for a recommended local optician for regular checks.