In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, all but essential eye care services were suspended during lockdown across the UK. As the pandemic has progressed, the lack of eye care services available has had a huge impact on many patients’ health and wellbeing. Where some patients experienced a small issue with their eye health during lockdown, the lack of services available has resulted in further deterioration to the point where these patients could now be considered for essential care.
As the country slowly emerges out of lockdown, primary eye care services have now been permitted to restart. At Optical Express we believe that all eye care is essential and that there should be no barriers to patients receiving the treatment they need. Our clinics across the UK are now open, and offering a full range of services including preoperative in-clinic consultations, vision correction surgery and eye examinations, ensuring all patients have access to the eye care services they require.
Just like visiting your dentist, or having a check-up at the GP, eye examinations are a crucial part of your regular health checks. As well as assessing your vision, eye examinations can identify the early signs of serious eye and general health conditions including glaucoma, cataracts, diabetes and many more. Several diseases and conditions often have no symptoms yet can be detected during an eye examination. Early diagnosis is key and can prevent or delay more serious damage occurring.
With people confined to their homes during lockdown, many are spending increasing amounts of time on smartphones, tablets and in front of the television. If this level of screen time continues, for both children and adults, the deterioration of eyesight could be accelerated. For parents who are concerned about their child’s vision or eye health, now is the perfect time to book your child in for an eye examination ahead of their return to school.
At Optical Express, not only do we focus on achieving the best outcomes for our patients, but we are also committed to doing all we can to reduce the burden on the NHS, especially in these challenging times. We know from independent, peer reviewed, scientific studies, that contact lenses carry a significant risk of infection 1,2 and bifocal and multifocal glasses are a major contributing factor in serious trips and falls, many of which result in hospital admission.3,4,5,6 As the UK’s only complete eye care provider, offering a full range of eye care services, we are working hard to help patients look after their vision, educating them on the best vision correction choices for them. In turn, this reduces the risk of patients suffering infections and incidents, and alleviates pressure on the NHS.
You can rest assured that we are taking all of the appropriate measures to make your visit to our clinics as safe, smooth and straightforward as possible. We have further enhanced our robust protocols and procedures to ensure our patients and employees are safe in our clinics at all times, including social distancing and the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). On this basis, our experienced clinical teams are ready to welcome patients and assist with all your eye care needs.
Your sight is your most precious sense, and it is vital that you take care of it. Book an appointment at your nearest Optical Express clinic today.
References
- Infective Keratitis after Laser Vision Correction: Incidence and Risk Factors; Shallhorn et al; J Cataract Refract Surg 2017; 43: 473-479.
- Contact Lens Replacted Microbial Keratitis; Stapleton et al; Eye 2012; 26: 185-193.
- Multifocal Glasses Impair Edge-Contrast Sensitivity and Depth Perception and Increase the Risk of Falls in Older People; Lord SR; J Am Geriatr Soc 2002; 50:1760-6
- Epidemiology of falls; Masud T. et al; Age Ageing 2001; 30:3-7;
- https://beta.isdscotland.org/media/2121/2019-03-05-ui-2019-report.pdf
- https://beta.isdscotland.org/media/3786/ui_table2_mar20.xlsx