A new report from Which? has found that a third of laser eye surgery consultations were of poor quality.
Undercover researchers visited 18 laser eye surgery clinics to study their selling procedures and assess the quality of advice given at initial consultations. Using Royal College of Ophthalmologists and the NICE guidelines, an expert panel found that in a third of consultations the potential complications were not clearly explained.
Independent clinics, smaller chains and hospital-based providers scored the best, and high street providers came bottom. Good written information was provided at all of the clinics visited, but not tailored to the individual.
Multiple Optical Express was said to have fallen down on every visit when it came to explaining complications. Four of six visits to its practices were rated as poor, with the remaining two rated as satisfactory. Optimax had one good rating, four satisfactory visits and no poor results. Independent clinics, smaller chains and hospitals received four good ratings, one satisfactory and one poor.
Which? said the findings would be passed on to the Care Quality Commission.
Responding to the report, a spokesperson for Optical Express said: 'Which?'s findings are based on the opinion of just a handful of people and certainly don't reflect the views of the tens of thousands of delighted patients we treat every year. Despite repeated requests Which? has also failed to disclose whether its panel of experts have commercial roles that could pose a conflict of interest.
'More than 99 per cent of our patients achieve 20/20 vision or better without spectacles or contact lenses post-surgery, based on a study of over 293,000 patients with the most common prescription ranges we treat. In a further study of over 97,000 patients, over 99 per cent said they would recommend Optical Express to a family member or friend.
'There is a clear and absolute misconception that everyone who seeks surgery with a large provider will receive surgery. This is not the case. Over the last five years we have declined to treat more than 150,000 patients who were determined as unsuitable candidates for a refractive procedure based on our strict clinical parameters.
'Patient care is our number one priority and we ensure that everyone we treat is fully informed and suitable for the type of surgery selected. As an example, we now provide all patients with a comprehensive video that contains details of risks, benefits and alternatives to surgery as part of the consent process. Over £350 million has been invested in the latest technology, clinical governance, Information Technology and Electronic Medical Record systems and clinical services in order to maintain the highest level of patient care.
'In our opinion the Which? report gives undue prominence to independent providers based on its selected criteria, despite the fact they carry out just 10 per cent of laser eye surgery procedures in the UK market and in many cases offer a lack of surgical experience and needlessly inflated prices in comparison to larger providers.'
Optimax said the report accurately reflected its stringent and ethical approach to patient selection.