In focus: Multiple’s strong response to Radio 4 cataract exposé

Radio 4’s Inside Health report into Optical Express’ cataract surgery practises has been described as containing ‘numerous factual inaccuracies’, the multiple has said.

In a statement sent to Optician, the company’s clinical services director, Stephen Hannan, said the company was ‘deeply disappointed’ by the BBC’s approach and branded the story as ‘sensationalising fake news’.

Inside Health, broadcast on March 3, claimed that practitioners at Optical Express were using ‘hard sell’ methods to convince patients to use its cataract surgery services.

It spoke to two patients who had been recommended to have cataract surgery after visiting the multiple for a sight test.

A patient from Manchester was surprised to be told that he had cataracts as he had not experienced any difficulty with his vision in day-to-day life.