Before children go to school, it is the responsibility of the Health Visitor to detect defects in a child's eyesight.

What safeguards are available to identify and correct any eyesight problems children may develop during their school years?

State school clinics, which were often the first line in spotting visual difficulties in children, have all but disappeared due to progressive cuts in funding. Now parents are advised to use the local optician if they have any concerns about a child's eyesight.

Sadly, what was a medically driven service, has been replaced by a purely retail one.

The good news is that most children's eye problems are nothing more than refractive errors that can be corrected by prescription spectacles.

However there are still some children who should actually be seeing a medically qualified ophthalmologist, rather than a retail optician. Misdiagnosis or an undetected complaint can cause not just medical problems for the child, but can also cause significant disruption to the child's education.

This is where Optical Solutions comes in...

Under the directorship of Dr Jonathan RS Whittle FRCS FRCOph, we provide a completely integrated screening, medical ophthalmic and optical dispensing service for school children of any age.

This service can be provided on the school premises, or in our extensively equipped surgery.

This means that the parent, school and perhaps most importantly, the child, has an easily accessible, one stop, medically qualified solution available locally. What's more, we offer regular ongoing screening and monitoring if required.

We not only provide state of the art ophthalmic services and facilities, but we also have the very latest contact lens technologies and as you might expect, a superb selection of spectacle frames to choose from. (Having children ourselves, we know how important it is to keep an eye on the latest fashions.)

Surprisingly for such a vitally important service, our fees and prices are, we believe, reasonable and fair.

There's a one-off administration/screening charge made for each child.

The cost of eye examinations and spectacles is borne by the NHS. If spectacles are needed we do not add any surcharge for children, except for certain designer frames.

Should further information be required about ophthalmic care for school children, please do not hesitate to contact us.

You might be surprised by what you learn.