Funding

[nhussain]

Hi

I was recently diagniosed with Keratoconus and have corrective lenses. However the practice I attended is under new ownership.

Does NHS fully fund the corrective lenses or do I have to pay for them?

[Anne Klepacz]

Hi and welcome!
The NHS partly funds corrective lenses for KC - the NHS rate is around £52 per lens. That covers any changes in prescription over a 12 month period. The NHS rate is automatic if you get your lenses from a hospital eye clinic. If the hospital contracts out contact lens provision to an outside practitioner, they should give you a voucher to take to the contact lens provider which entitles you to the NHS rate. Hope that helps.
Anne

[Andrew MacLean]

nhussain

Welcome to the forum. Although there are many variations between the NHS in England and Wales and the NHS in Scotland, the cost of contact lenses for people with KC is the same in both jurisdictions. £52 covers each eye for 12 months. The only circumstance in which you are charged a second fee in the 12 month period is if you have lost a lens.

Does your local ophthalmology clinic have a contact lens department attached to it?

All the best

Andrew

[GarethB]

If you loose a lens, some will charge others will dispnse a new lens for no extra cost, it depends on the circumstances the lens is lost.

[Matt Allgood]

Some years ago I bought a replacement lens, then immediately lost it when playing football over the Marshes! I rang Moorfields and explained what had happened and they issued a further replacement free of charge.