NHS sight test without consent and pressured sales call
I am posting this on behalf of my mother, who has dementia and lives in a care home, and for whom I hold Power of Attorney. She has her own regular optician. This company carried out an NHS sight test on her without my knowledge or consent as her Power of Attorney. The care home has confirmed in writing that the dementia ward was not told about the visit, and that families were not informed in advance.
• I was then phoned and pressed to buy new frames and lenses. The caller cited “the state of the frames” and a “prescription change” but would not say what had changed. I had to ask three times before he gave any detail, having first said he did not have the test results.
• I was told the frames were unserviceable. My mother’s regular optician has since adjusted them in a few minutes, at no charge.
• I made a formal complaint. The optician accused me of a data protection breach for copying in the care home, which is my mother’s carer, and said she would respond only if I resent it without them copied. She then accused me of “bullying behaviour”.
• The optician says the care home gave her relatives’ contact details for sales calls. The care home says it repeatedly asked how she obtained them and she did not reply.
I have referred the matter to the General Optical Council, which is actively investigating. I will update this review in due course.