Childrens glasses

Patient Information Leaflet

A guide for parents and guardians

• You have been given a voucher (HES 3) by the hospital.
• This voucher will help you pay for part of the cost of a pair of glasses for your child.

The glasses prescription and voucher form (HES 3)

• The hospital will provide one voucher for the year.
• Here is a copy of the prescription for you to keep:

Getting the glasses made

• It is important that you take the prescription voucher AND your child to the Opticians (an eye care specialist).
• Your child must be seen by the Optician so that the best size glasses frames can be chosen. They need to fit perfectly.
• When you collect the glasses, you must also take your child.
• This is because the Optician may need to make small adjustments to the frames and make sure that the glasses fit.
• The Optician will let you know how much the voucher is worth and what you will need to pay.
• At first, you may find that your child complains that their vision (eyesight) is worse when wearing the new glasses. This is common in the early days.
• Please continue to encourage your child, as it may take several weeks for them to adapt to their new glasses.

Glasses fitting

• It is very important that glasses fit children well and adjustments often need to be made.
• If your child complains their glasses are no longer comfortable, or if you notice that their glasses are slipping down their nose or are bent, take your child and the glasses back to the Opticians.
• They will be happy to make the necessary adjustments.

If your child loses or breaks their glasses

• You are entitled to repairs and replacement for your child's glasses for up to one year after being given the voucher.
• You do not need to get another voucher from the hospital for this service.
• Simply take your child back to the Optician who provided the glasses, and they will arrange this for you using the Repair and Replacement (pink) voucher.
• This will be provided by your Optician.

Changing or cancelling your appointment

• If you would like to change or cancel your appointment, please call the Outpatient Access Centre on 020 7288 5511.

Content is used by kind permission of Royal Free Hospital NHS Foundation Trust