Verum writes: Hold the front page! Optical professionals on the high street offer value for money!

Those of you with long memories will remember when the optical profession always seemed to be in the news, but not for the right reasons.

Over the years there was a constant stream of articles in the newspapers and on TV, focusing in particular on two aspects of practice. Firstly, there was the supposed exorbitant cost of a visit to the opticians and that something as simple as a pair of spectacles could cost hundreds of pounds.

Secondly, it was said that a patient could go to a number of different optometrists and receive a variety of opinions, ranging from they either did not or did need spectacles; and if spectacles were required, the final prescription could vary from one optometrist to another.