Specsavers admits error over child's 'lazy eye' prescription

The parents of a five-year-old who was given an incorrect lens by Specsavers Opticians to correct her 'lazy eye' condition have criticised the multiple through the local press. The child had to wear an eye patch on her right eye for four hours a day this summer to correct the condition in her left eye, but the youngster found she could not see when she wore her spectacles. The prescription was provided by a specialist at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, Wonford, and the family went to Specsavers Opticians for the spectacles. It was only when the child went for a check-up at the hospital six weeks later that the error was found. 'She was practically blind for a month,' Rebekah Schamroth, the child's mother, told the Exeter Express & Echo (October 16). 'We were trying to get as much possible done for the lazy eye before she went to school. Our daughter has been miserable for a month and she kept saying she couldn't see anything. A Specsavers spokeswoman told optician such an error had never happened before in the 20 years since the practice first opened. 'A thorough investigation has taken place and the practice has instituted new procedures to ensure it never happens again,' she said. Specsavers told the Echo it had rectified the problem the same day it became aware of it, and was offering compensation. Joe Hill, retail director at Specsavers, said: 'There was a mistake with her prescription. We did investigate it and it was a problem with the checking in the lab. We have improved our checks. It's something we are quite upset about, especially as it happened to a young child. It's something that's never happened before and hopefully will never happen again.'