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who can get free glasses on the NHS?

strawberrie

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(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 1

dogtanian

16

Students under 19 get an NHS voucher. You can get free glasses on them, but they're not usually that nice. I tend to use them in Specsavers for a reduction on the more expensive glasses. (My last pair were £89 without the voucher, £25 with)

There might be a low income thing as well that I don't know much about, but no, you don't get free glasses simply for being a student at university.

Reply 2

*River

15

Specsavers is the cheapest, but they don't seem to test as well as other places. You can get tested anywhere though and then get the glasses at Specsavers which is what I do. Ask around and see if anybody in your area has any suggestions, I personally use a very small private firm with just 2 branches but find that the optician there is very good.

Reply 3

gemby!

2

this is why im going to specsavers just before i hit 18 next month :P

Reply 4

dogtanian

16

gemby!

this is why im going to specsavers just before i hit 18 next month :P

Doesn't matter, it's tstudents under nineteen that get it free.

Which is why I need to get my arse in gear..

Reply 5

Fyska

9

I knew there was something I meant to do before turning 19 today. Bum.

Reply 6

tate

1

i had to fill in a massive big long form the other day to try and get some kinda help to pay for my glasses, if i still lived at home i don't think i'd be able to get any help becuase my parents 'earn too much' apparently, but i think i can get help now because ive moved out. i don't think anyone in education should have to pay for anything like eye tests, perscriptions and dentist things, its costing me a fourtune!

Reply 7

DartsOfPleasure

10

I got a £30 discount since I'm under 18 and in full time education. Specsavers do some great deals - 2 for 1. I got two nice pairs of glasses about £300 (but this did include thinning of the lenses).

Reply 8

musicbloke

17

grrr, glasses are so expensive. I just bought some for the first time in 4 years.

MB

Reply 9

pumpkin7

13

mine cost £3.. with the NHS discount thing... i think all i paid for was so that the lenses were scratch resistant.

Reply 10

DartsOfPleasure

10

WOAH! Now that is a good bargain :smile:

Reply 11

tritogeneia1

1

I have a fairly complex prescription so they tend to cost more, which is annoying. I don't know why they don't make any allowances for students but do for under-19s in full-time education, considering that your parents will probably fork out if you're still at school (and if they can't afford to then presumably you'd get a discount anyway) but at uni you're generally on your own - and not earning money. I know you get money off if you're really hard up, but it's still a considerable expense if you're just an average student, and it's an expense that's necessary for your course too - after all, you can hardly study or do any work if you can't see properly! And people who have just the same amount of money as you but are lucky enough to have good eyesight don't have this expenditure. Grrrrrrr.....ok, rant over! :smile:

Reply 12

Stefan_M

10

I received a voucher for £100 off my pair of glasses, since my mother is a single parent and received the voucher since I am still in full-time education.

My glasses were bloody expensive even with the voucher, considering how I rarely even wear them. They cost around £210 in total from Specsavers (including the scratch resistant protection and all of that) so in essence cost me £110.

I must start wearing them more regularly to try and get a £110 use out of them lol :P I do not know if at University you can gain an NUS card, but with an NUS card you can get 25% off of glasses from Specsavers.

Regards,

Stefan

Reply 13

tate

1

tritogeneia1

I have a fairly complex prescription so they tend to cost more, which is annoying. I don't know why they don't make any allowances for students but do for under-19s in full-time education, considering that your parents will probably fork out if you're still at school (and if they can't afford to then presumably you'd get a discount anyway) but at uni you're generally on your own - and not earning money. I know you get money off if you're really hard up, but it's still a considerable expense if you're just an average student, and it's an expense that's necessary for your course too - after all, you can hardly study or do any work if you can't see properly! And people who have just the same amount of money as you but are lucky enough to have good eyesight don't have this expenditure. Grrrrrrr.....ok, rant over! :smile:

i know what you mean! becuase i don't have to wear my glasses all the time, i just went for cheap frames, they were only 40 squid, but then on top of that i had to pay for the lenses and the eye test, so it still cost me just over 100 squid :frown:

Reply 14

tritogeneia1

1

Yeah, and is even more if you want good frames to wear all the time that don't fall apart, or if you have a really complex prescription like my mum, who has to pay loads for her glasses. I wouldn't mind so much if it were a luxury or something optional, but being able to see properly is hardly a luxury, and it seems a bit unfair to have to fork out for something so basic that people with good eyesight get for free. Grrr. No doubt there are other considerations that I haven't thought of, but if e.g. someone who's dyslexic can get help to pay for a computer to study regardless of cost (not saying they shouldn't!) to put them on a level playing field with with people who aren't dyslexic, then why not people who need glasses? (No doubt a cost issue, as there are probably way more people who need glasses than people with dyslexia.) And students get discounts for other much less expensive and non-vital things.

Anyway, sorry, I'm ranting and probably talking complete rubbish; I'd like to hear if there's a good reason that students get no help with glasses though!

Reply 15

guest1984

Off topic!

I been wearing glasses since i was 17, my eye sight use to be excellent when i was younger. I use to play computer games alot, sat right next to the TV, screwed up my eyesight

I hate it when opticans, says that my poor eye sight had nothing to do with watching TV close up when i was younger.

Is it possible for someone to be born short/long sighted? I don't think so

Anyway, i might get contact lenses, but they look kinda dangerous :redface:

Reply 16

Leigh

15

guest1984

Off topic!
Is it possible for someone to be born short/long sighted? I don't think so

Of course, just like people can be born blind, or any other disability.

Anyway, i might get contact lenses, but they look kinda dangerous :redface:

I'm sure they wouldn't let people use them if they weren't safe!

Reply 17

tritogeneia1

1

I've had to wear glasses (well, now on contacts, but same difference - btw contacts are excellent) since I was 3, and was born with long sight and astigmatism - since astigmatism is a weirdly shaped eyeball it's hard to see how you could get that from watching too much TV or whatever. Some people start off with bad eyesight, some people get it later and some lucky people never have a problem!
I don't think my reply was that off topic - I was giving an opinion relevant to the thread title, even if it wasn't factual.

who can get free glasses on the NHS?

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