Chris was one of our successful applicants of our Thanks a Million campaign where we are giving away another £1 million worth of free laser eye surgery to the NHS and Emergency Service Workers.

As a police officer for 17 years, Chris’s job requires a certain standard of vision to enable them to effectively do their job. Working a mixture of shifts, driving fast vehicles and being a taser equipped officer, Chris needed 100% vision to ensure execution and safety are up to the highest quality.

Being a taser equipped officer, there is a firearms eyesight standard that he needs to meet, but also as a professional witness in court where what they see can be used in evidence. Therefore, it is absolute critical that his eyesight is the best that it can be, which is why he opts for contact lenses.

By wearing contact lenses, he is not worrying or restricted with glasses. However, Chris has said that he is “fed up of having to put them in and take them out” and suffering with dry eyes and infections that can arise with contact lenses.

After seeing the ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign on Facebook, Chris put his name forward and “was surprised” when he had been told that he was randomly selected for the free laser eye surgery.

Chris had his surgery in the Dartford clinic and commented that everyone was professional and friendly and have been “informative throughout the whole process”.

24 hours after his surgery, Chris woke up and although his eyes were still slightly blurry he could notice the different in his vision immediately. Saying that he “could see straight away, it was fantastic”.

The life changing benefits Chris already notices is that he no longer has to stress about putting contact lenses in or taking them out, he doesn’t have to worry about working extended hours because he won’t get dry and tired eyes, and he can confidently and comfortable dealing with any incidents that arise, stating that “it’s going to change things massively”.

 It is the second time that Optical Express has chosen to thank NHS and Emergency Service workers in this way. In 2017, they launched their first ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign which saw them give away £1 million worth of free laser eye surgery. Over the course of the two campaigns more than £2 million worth of surgery will improve the lives of NHS and Emergency Service workers.

Since Optical Express was founded 33 years ago, the team are proud to have supported hundreds of humanitarian and philanthropic projects, donating over £33 million and counting to worthwhile causes in the UK and abroad.