Tesco offers free testing

Tesco Opticians is now  offering free eye examinations to anyone that does not qualify for an NHS-funded test.

After running a series of limited period free eye examination promotions, the supermarket retailer has elected to permanently provide full free GOS tests across all of its practices from February 26.

Tesco claims that it is providing the first free universal eye test since the 1980s and reports that the service has ‘no strings attached’, meaning no purchase is necessary to receive a test.

Tesco’s director of pharmacy and healthcare, Ashley Hicks said of the

decision: ‘This is an important move towards improving the nation’s health. By removing the cost barrier and offering convenient opening hours, we aim to make this important check up as easy as possible for our customers.’

Explaining the impact it hopes the free tests will have on optometry, Tesco pointed to what happened in Scotland when MPs re-introduced universal free eye tests in 2006. According to the NHS Information Services Division, visits to optometrists increased by 64 per cent.

To coincide with the move, Tesco is also offering a range of prescription frames at £10.

The retailer’s move was applauded by the Royal National Institute of the Blind, whose chief executive Lesley-Anne Alexander, said: 'We are delighted that Tesco has decided to provide free eye tests to their customers as well as introducing a low cost range of spectacles. RNIB research suggests that the cost can be a significant barrier to people getting eye tests, so we hope that this landmark decision will encourage many more people to get a their eyes tested regularly.’