Member Article

Focus on glaucoma as Vision Express opens store in Bracknell

Vision Express has officially opened its doors to the Bracknell community, with a focus on the ‘silent thief of sight’ delivered by a guest of honour from the International Glaucoma Association, which is one of the optician’s charity partners.

Subhash Suthar helped unveil the store in the newly developed retail space The Lexicon, and after cutting the ribbon to declare the optician officially open, he talked to visitors and the store team about glaucoma. It is a growing concern for Bracknell, with the latest figures revealing 3,587 suspected cases – which is over 5% of the local population.

“Glaucoma is a long-term, chronic disease which is mostly symptomless – sometimes referred to as a silent thief of sight,” explained Subhash. “The increase in diagnosis of glaucoma, in an increasing elderly population, has NHS services creaking at its seams. The huge problem is that eye drops are a first line treatment, yet many people stop using them because they don’t feel any benefit, and this leads to gradual visual loss. Glaucoma is a condition many people are unaware of so it’s important to be able to raise awareness with Vision Express.”

Following a transformation and redeveloment of the town centre, Vision Express is among a number of major retailers who now call The Lexicon - a one million square foot retail space – home.

Store manager Shelly Kimber-Smith said: “Thanks to The Lexicon, the town is already so much busier and livelier – it’s buzzing with people and our customers are really impressed. The whole town has been waiting for a refurbishment for over 30 years.

“We have a fantastic team here with over 75 years of combined optical experience, and we’re proud to be able to provide a thorough and individual eye care service from our brand new store.”

Shelly added: “It was great to have Subhash with us for our opening to highlight the growing issue of glaucoma. The information he provided was interesting, especially his advice on the importance of convincing our affected customers to stick with eyedrops. He explained how some people stop using them because they don’t think they are working, but that’s just because glaucoma is often symptomless.”

The IGA has been a charity partner of Vision Express since 2015 and together they work to raise awareness of the importance of eye tests in the early detection of glaucoma.

One of the biggest causes of preventable sight loss worldwide, glaucoma is the name given to a group of eye conditions in which the main nerve to the eye (the optic nerve) is damaged where it leaves the eye. This nerve carries information about what is being seen from the eye to the brain and, as it becomes damaged, vision is lost. An estimated 600,000 people in the UK have glaucoma, yet research indicates half of those are undiagnosed. There are no early symptoms of glaucoma. Symptoms of advanced glaucoma include missing, patchy vision and serious loss of vision.

Vision Express offers an eye test to best practice guidelines of the College of Optometrists (COO), with each Vision Express optometrist being a qualified eye health professional.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Vision Express .