Decent optician please!

Share your experiences of local businesses - recommend or discourage!
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seahermit
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Decent optician please!

Postby seahermit » Sun Aug 27, 2017 12:02 am

I haven't been around here for a while, had some problems with the site not accepting my log-in .. and blocking me at times! However, I'm glad to see that the site is still very colourful and the forums especially interesting.

I need a reliable optician in Hastings area or not far off, as I have a cataract which needs dealing with. It was diagnosed a year ago but you have to wait for it to develop before they will eventually give you a referral to the hospital.

I know I only need to ask for an eye-test somewhere for now and I can decide where to buy glasses later. But I am thinking ahead and hoping that, when I walk into an optician's to book an eye-test, I can test the quality of their service. My last experience with Boots was very unsatisfactory - after a very rushed eye-test a year ago, I ended up with distance glasses (which were fine) and reading glasses which were completely useless, I could see better without them. A waste of £90.

It appears that the whole business is very hit-and-miss and the chains vary from branch to branch. Boots is actually one of the better opticians - Specsavers and Vision Express get terrible reviews on the internet! Does anyone have any personal recommendations to help me, any good experiences? I'm wondering if the more expensive opticians (Wilson, Wilson and Hancock in Cambridge Road or Barraclough and Stiles) are worth spending the extra amount in order to get a more personal service?

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Geoff
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Re: Decent optician please!

Postby Geoff » Sun Aug 27, 2017 4:37 pm

Welcome (back) to the Forum Seahermit. If you ever have trouble logging in just give me a shout. I should be able to sort it out for you.

Regarding opticians, my mum has recently had a couple of experiences with this. The first was with Specsavers, who she thinks are terrible and will never go back. The second with Wilson Wilson and Hancock, which was an altogether more pleasing experience.

Hope that helps.

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seahermit
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Re: Decent optician please!

Postby seahermit » Sun Aug 27, 2017 4:52 pm

Thanks Geoff, that's really helpful. I was thinking that Wilson, Wilson and Hancock looked a bit more promising, less of the usual profit-chasing chain shop. My last glasses from Specsavers, a few years ago, literally fell apart twice and had to be replaced for free.

My previous incarnation on this planet was as "Moonjiver" - I got the feeling the message board took a distinct dislike to me, but maybe I was just unlucky!

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Geoff
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Re: Decent optician please!

Postby Geoff » Sun Aug 27, 2017 5:30 pm

Wow, Moonjiver, welcome back. Are you happy with the new account or shall we have a go at fixing the old one for you?

The annoying thing was my mum was referred from her doctor to get an eye test for driving, and Specsavers were their only approved optician for this, so she had to go there. WWH every time if given the choice.

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seahermit
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Re: Decent optician please!

Postby seahermit » Sun Aug 27, 2017 9:55 pm

Thanks Geoff, I think I'll stick with the new account, I'm superstitious!

Unfortunately, as soon as you introduce profit into the equation, service tends to become less of a priority. Amongst opticians there seem to be some quite dubious performers, it's not the best kind of system. Rather pot luck!

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Richard
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Re: Decent optician please!

Postby Richard » Wed Aug 30, 2017 8:38 pm

Hi MJ,
I wondered what had happened to you and we missed you!
Regarding opticians in general, I have had a good experience at 'specsavers' I was examined in detail and agreed to buy two 'reading specs' for the price of one, they were at the lower price range and are just fine.
People in receipt of certain benefits may be able to get them free of charge.
The tests done were professional and I was reassured.
When my 'cheapo' sun-glasses (purchased elsewhere) broke at the arm hinge I took them to 'specsavers' (on two occasions) and they repaired them free of charge.
It is true that they are a 'chain' and often there is quite a queue at the counter but I don't think this is the problem you may face.
Whilst there are many independent opticians offering a good and relaxed service I believe that they are all more or less operating to a fairly high standard, unlike some dental practitioners I have experience of.
All 'high-street' opticians should be able to map and diagnose issues and monitor organic changes, from one visit to the next and demonstrate this in some detail.
Glaucoma and Macular degeneration and cataracts will all be noticed by the most basic optician but they do not operate if there is a problem, that is passed to the NHS, or private sector if you can afford the charges.

Firstly you absolutely have to do your own research and learn how to ask the right sort of questions or you may just accept their recommendations and put up with whatever transpires.
Regarding 'macular degeneration', we have come a long way from the days when most NHS hospitals used 'hot-laser' treatment to seal the leaking blood vessels in the macular area and some patients received serious scar-tissue damage that could not be reversed.
The only alternative (at the time) was to pay for private treatment, running into many thousands of pounds, for 'photo-dynamic' therapy which was developed in the USA from trials first done here in the UK.
More recently 'Nice' have allowed modern treatments which can treat 'MD' on the NHS.
I have not had much experience of glaucoma but in respect of cataracts, both the NHS and private consultants may encourage operations for which they quote good statistical chances of success - but again there is a concern that they may just be chasing fees.
I know of two close friends who have lost what sight they had as a result of such operations and there is little you can do about it.
In my opinion you need to pay for a consultant examination at a private clinic and examine the credentials of the consultant.

In summary,
It isn't the high-street optician you should be too much concerned about here but more the quality and reputation of the person who will be doing the operation, (assuming your problem is absolutely necessary) it may just be a junior under supervision in the NHS.
In the NHS you may have to take a chance but even in the private sector you have to have your wits about you and get all the risks explained but at least you can determine exactly who will be doing the operation.
Good luck, do a lot of research and be prepared to pay for exactly the person you want to do the operation you need, however simple it is promised to be.
There is nothin wrong with the NHS, the consultant who does private work may well work in the NHS but it is under strain and the chances are that you will be more of a guinea pig.
:shock:

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seahermit
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Re: Decent optician please!

Postby seahermit » Wed Aug 30, 2017 10:21 pm

Richard, I'm honoured by your long response and the fact that I was actually missed! I am still around in Hastings -despite my moans at times, I wouldn't live anywhere else.

Thanks for your comments on a less-than-straightforward question. People seem to have varying experiences with opticians but you are quite right - equally important is who is performing the operation if it gets to that stage. My friend has glaucoma and/or a cataract (I don't fully understand the details) and is shortly seeing the Conquest again. He seems fairly happy with his treatnent so far but is understandably anxious - we are very dependent on the specialists and it is often uncertain how successfully things will turn out.

If I have anything useful to report about my experiences, I'll post it on here for other people. The Conquest gets a lot of stick over its day-to-day service to people (in my view somewhat sloppy) but I haven't heard any horror stories about the operations and some areas of the UK are reported to be much worse!

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seahermit
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Re: Decent optician please!

Postby seahermit » Sun Sep 10, 2017 3:11 pm

Just a follow-up to my earlier posts. I relied upon Geoff's mother's experience (mother often knows best!) and went to Wilson, Wilson and Hancock for an eye test. Yes, I was quite impressed by the unrushed attitude and the friendly, seemingly knowledgeable reception (not by young girls trained only to work a cash till). Hopefully that's a good sign. Got a cataract in one eye and another slightly developed one in the other eye - I think it's going to be a protracted period of trekking to the hospital (Bexhill) and hoping my apprehensions will not be as bad as the reality! Thanks again for the advice from different quarters.

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Geoff
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Re: Decent optician please!

Postby Geoff » Sun Sep 10, 2017 5:48 pm

No problem. Glad the visit to WWH went well. Sorry the synopsis isn't quite so pleasing.

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number9
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Re: Decent optician please!

Postby number9 » Thu Jan 14, 2021 11:19 pm

I know this is an old thread but the title is still relevant.
Despite lock-down opticians are still open & I feel I need an eye test.

I'm tempted to try Wilson, Wilson & Hancock as they give the extra test for a deeper scan to the eyes for an extra £25 ? and Vision Express don't seem to have this.
However Specsavers do the same deep scan test much cheaper so maybe they would be ok.
Is Kassa cafe & opticians ( St Leonards seafront ) as good as I've heard ?
Do they also do the deep eye scan test. They show as being open 3 days a week.


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