NHS contact lenses - new price

[Andrew MacLean]

I am pretty sure the same policy is adopted in Glasgow

[rosemary johnson]

It may officially be MEH *policy* they won't charge again for new lenses required within a year - but has anyone ever actually found it to work/
I've had new lenses that proved to be no good, but would they re-do them?? Would they heck! - not without another fat cheque.
Rosemary

[Lynn White]

Hmmmmm

Rosemary.. in the real world of commercialism, competition and cut throat high street optics, we would not get away with that. The patients would just threaten to take us to trading standards, GOC etc etc etc...

Hospitals tend to be immune to such things as they have you as a captive audience. This is not the fitters fault btw.. its accounts depts

Lynn

[Sweet]

Just wanted to add that my twin sister has now been told that she has to pay for her lenses! Shock horror!!! Hehe i hear you all say didn't she before then? No! Her consultant thought it totally unfair for KC patients to pay when it isn't for vanity reasons and wouldn't charge her, but now it seems that times are hard and she has to catch up with the rest of us! Sad that - because when i was a patient of his i always paid!!! She is going on now about how expensive it is, well such is life!! I've paid for years i told her, you'll get over it!!!

Sweet X x X

[Lynn White]

Well...

This is indeed the real world and actually, to be honest, KC patients in one respect are no different form others in the hospital system needing to wear contacts for medical reasons. HOWEVER, KC patients are pretty unique in often needing frequent changes of prescription and fit of contact lenses just to be able to see. This is the major difference and this is what needs to be recognised.

I think your ex consultant, Sweet, is suffering from a dose of reality from accounts departments. Consultants used to have a lot of discretion about what they gave to whom, both contact lens and medication wise. This is no longer so. The NHS is very money conscious nowadays.

Lynn

[rosemary johnson]

Hmmmmm

Rosemary.. in the real world of commercialism, competition and cut throat high street optics, we would not get away with that. The patients would just threaten to take us to trading standards, GOC etc etc etc...

Hospitals tend to be immune to such things as they have you as a captive audience. This is not the fitters fault btw.. its accounts depts

Lynn

Hmm, indeed! Though I suspect it is probably either 1. the lack of communication and understanding between accounts depts and the practitioners, or possibly 2. the practitioners don't want to admit "this one was wrong so needs to be redone" in official paperwork the finance dept would accept least it reflect badly on their own performance stats when it comes to renewing their contracts.
or just possibly 3. they don't want the hassle of hunting back to establish what was ordered, paid for, etc etc, when and whether you really are within the 12 months - particularly as has been known to happen, the notes are in a right mess.

in a sense, the payment for lenses has its advantages - I've adopted the approach that I won't pay for a new lens unless and until I'm thoroughly convinced it is going to work. I can see this frustrating the practitioners - who'd love to say "why don't we get one of those for you and you can go and try it?" - and I refuse! But then, I've always found that if a lens is goign to work, I can tell almost at once, and if it's uncomfy from the word go, it won't work.
WHen I was newly on the books, MEH "tried" all sorts of things, none of which worked. It might have been better than if they had to get money out of me to go ahead - they would have had to be refocused by my refusal to pay out for things I wasn't happy with. And I might have got workable solutions (as in answers, not fluids!) if I hadn;t gone off with all these lenses that were never much cop cos they were free till NEH got round to my way of knowing how odd my eyes are!
ROsemary