Yes. We welcome both NHS and Private patients to our practice. To check if you are entitled to help from the NHS towards the cost of your eye test, see the answer to the question below.

You may be entitled to a free, basic NHS eye examination if you fall into one of the following categories:

• Aged 60 or over
• Under-16 or under-19 and still in full time education
• Diagnosed as having diabetes or glaucoma
• 40 years of age or over with a close relative with glaucoma
• Registered blind or partially sighted
• In need of complex lenses
• You or your partner receive Income Support or Income Based Job Seekers Allowance
• You or your partner receive Tax Credit/Child Tax Credit (and are named on a NHS Tax Credit Exemption Certificate)
• You or your partner are named on a valid HC2 or HC3 certificate

As well as a free eye examination, you may also be entitled to some help with the purchase of glasses or contact lenses, if you are:

• Under 16 or under 19 and still in full time education
• You or your partner are named on a valid HC2 or HC3 certificate
• In need of complex lenses
• You or your partner claim Income Support, Income Based Job Seekers Allowance, Working Family’s Tax Credit/Disabled Person’s Tax Credit(and are named on a NHS Tax Credit Exemption Certificate)

If you are an Eyeplan member there is no charge for your eye examination.

Otherwise, our fully comprehensive Exe Examination is £65, including retinal photography and an OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) .

We would advise everyone to include an OCT, Optical Coherence Tomography Scan in their eye examination ( The optician will take both a digital photograph and a three dimensional cross sectional scan of the back of your eye in one sitting. OCT produces a 3D image of the layers of your retina, enabling us to detect and monitor any abnormalities and potentially sight-threatening problems much earlier, ensuring early referral for treatment.)

It is also possible to book an appointment for our more basic examination which includes retinal photography ( a detailed digital image of the back of your eyes) which is £45.

Of course we have regular promotions for anyone visiting our website, click here to see our latest special offers.

Retinal photography is when we take detailed digital images of the lining at the back of your eyes (your retinae), enabling us to carry out a more advanced health assessment of your eyes. It is invaluable in helping us to detect and monitor conditions such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetes, cataracts and high blood pressure.

Once we have the initial images taken of your retinae we can then detect changes in your eye health at a much earlier stage at following examinations.

Regular eye examinations are vital not only to let you know if we can help you to see better, but also because your eyes often don’t hurt when something is wrong. It’s an important health check for your eyes which can detect early signs of eye conditions before you’re aware of any symptoms – many of which can be treated if found early enough.

These Include:

• Diabetes
• Glaucoma
• Cataracts
• Age Related Macular Degeneration
• High blood pressure and high cholesterol
• Raised intracranial pressure
• Some brain tumours

View Eye Conditions

It’s important for your child to have their eye examined around the time they start school and are learning to read, or even before this if you have any concerns, regardless of how minor they are. If your child does have a problem with their eyes or their vision, the earlier this is detected the more chance there is of successful treatment.

Remember that children aren’t aware of what they ‘should’ be seeing, so often don’t know to tell you when they have a problem. Often the problem is only detected when they attend for their first eye examination. Your child’s eyes will be well developed by 8 years old so it is very important to detect and treat any problems before this.

The frequency of your next recommended eye examination will be very specific to your personal eyecare needs, but as a general guideline, the following intervals will give you an idea:

• Under 19 years old – every year if you wear glasses or every 2 years if you don’t
• Between 19 and 70 years old – every two years
• Over 70 years old – every year.

If you have an eye condition or you have some family history of particular eye conditions you may need to be re-examined earlier than this. Contact us if you would like further clarification.

Throughout the year we introduce new glasses to all our brands, and we regularly introduce completely new brands to keep our range fresh. With this in mind you can always be assured that we’ll have lots new glasses for you to try each time you come in to see us.

Of course brand names aren’t always everyone’s cup of tea, and we certainly believe that more importantly, quality is paramount. We also recommend exceptional frames in several other ranges, such as: Z-one, X-Eyes, Blue, Orange Eyewear, Vulkan and many more.

We promise that if you can’t find the perfect frame in our practice we’ll do our very best to find it for you!

Almost anyone can wear contact lenses regardless of their age or lifestyle, even if you have astigmatism or only need glasses for reading or using the computer. Children can also successfully wear contact lenses for special occasions or to provide freedom from glasses whilst playing sports. Contact us today or ask us at your next eye examination if you would like to try them!

Our Schoolvision assessments examine the way your eyes work together as you read; in particular the relationship between vision and dyslexia. Although the name indicates that the programme is specific to children it is also fully adaptable to adults with dyslexia or who struggle with reading.

When you read, just one dominant eye should take over the job of aiming at the words. But if both eyes try to do this job, the words and letters appear to shift out of order sending confused messages to your brain which can cause difficulties in reading and spelling. If this takes place while a child is learning to read the effect on their confidence, enjoyment of reading and often behaviour can be profound.

Early identification and treatment of reading difficulties following our Schoolvision assessment, can help children to achieve their full potential, both in education and ultimately in their future.

At Eglinton Eyecare we carry out both Schoolvision and Coloured Overlay assessments.

During a Schoolvision assessment we examine the way your eyes work together as you read. Among many other tests we determine if colour can make an improvement to your reading ability. This assessment is carried out separately to your eye examination and we allow up to 2 hours for it.

A Coloured Overlay assessment considers simply the benefit of colour to your reading ability. This assessment is carried out separately to your eye examination and we allow up to 40 minutes for it.