Will the NHS supply lenses free of charge?

[Tittch]

It occurs to me that as I now have a positive diagnosis of KC I might be able to get my monthly toric lenses paid for. Does anyone know if this is likely?

Thanking you in advance.

Rita

[charlene godfrey]

When i was trying out contact lenses i didnt have to pay unitll the fit was correct but then had to pay £50 a pair.You might be able to check with the dispensing department at the hospital you are being treated.

[Anne Klepacz]

Yes, unfortunately eyes are like teeth - NHS treatment isn't actually free! But if you get your prescription for lenses through a hospital eye department, then the charge is £50.50 per lens and that covers a 12 month period, so there is no extra charge if the prescription needs to be changed in that time. Hospitals that don't have their own contact lens department should give a voucher that can be taken to an optometrist to provide the lenses at the NHS price.
Anne

[Tittch]

Yes, unfortunately eyes are like teeth - NHS treatment isn't actually free! But if you get your prescription for lenses through a hospital eye department, then the charge is £50.50 per lens and that covers a 12 month period, so there is no extra charge if the prescription needs to be changed in that time. Hospitals that don't have their own contact lens department should give a voucher that can be taken to an optometrist to provide the lenses at the NHS price.
Anne

Thank you Anne. I currently get 100% exemption on dental charges due to low income, but I have monthly toric disposables at £14 a month so does this mean that I could get a £101 contribution towards them or is this only for hard specially for KC lenses?

[rosemary johnson]

Actaully, it's 51.90 now.....
I don't know about monthly disposables. I presume these are actually powered lenses that correct your vision? I think you might get X months supply of them for one lens charge - but you will have to work out whether this is cheaper than the actual post of buyingn them, depending on what "X" is these days.
I have had supplies of daily disposable soft lenses, unpowered for piggybacking. (This means that the soft lens goes under the had lens to act as a sort of "cushion" and make them more comfortable and the wearing time greater, so the soft lens has as little power on as possible.)
I think I was told I could have X months for one lens chanrge (which actually worked out at 2xX, as I was only using them in one eye and alternated eye/lens use). I was then tld this was only for powered lenses and piggy-backing ones should be free ..... which sparked off a whole saga I shan't bore you with, except to say that I eventually got a refund and some more supplies of lenses, and a long explanation about it being a moot point, and how some people didn't like piggybacking......
SO you may be lucky, or you may not ... or you may end up like me, thinking it would be cheaper just to go out to Asda's and buy the wretched things over the counter anyway.
Good luck.
Rant mode: as the news is full of regular coverage of the 60th brithday of the NHS, I am reminded tht the wonderful idea of the NHS was to provide those basic bare essentials like teeth and glasses. Yet now we live in an age where the NHS can provide test-tube babies (in an overpopulated planet!) xenotransplants and goodness knows what other esoterica - yet the problems of trying to find, let alone register with, an NHS dentist are becoming legendary, with tales of queues round the block to put the WImbledon queue int the shade and people resorting to pulling their own teeth out, and have you seen the price of spectacles????? Oh, I don't doubt the marvellousness of what the NHS can fo these days - nor do I resent those people with maybe obscure or "minority" illnesses or disabilities getting treatment - but isn't it about time someone looked back at its routes and wondered what got overlooked??
OK I@ll shut up now.
Rosemry

[Tittch]

Actaully, it's 51.90 now.....
I don't know about monthly disposables. I presume these are actually powered lenses that correct your vision?

Yes they are powered. I'm handing my Pentacam scans into my opticians this morning and hopefully will get an appointment for Monday to discuss them and lens funding.

Thank you so much for the advice!
Rita