Member Article

Vision Express highlights UK’s growing glaucoma concern during opening of new optical store in Huntingdon

With glaucoma high on the national health agenda, the new ‘Vision Express at Tesco’ store in Huntingdon has officially opened its doors, with a celebration led by the International Glaucoma Association (IGA).

Projections suggest that glaucoma cases are set to rise by nearly 50% by 2035 . It is estimated that 1,707 residents in Huntingdonshire may have glaucoma. It is a leading cause of preventable sight loss worldwide but as it often has no symptoms in the early stages it often remains undetected until a person has an eye health check.

The Vision Express Huntingdon optical team welcomed Subhash Suthar from the IGA as a guest of honour to perform a ribbon cutting ceremony, officially opening the store to the public. He also offered advice to the team about the importance of sight-saving eye drops for those affected by glaucoma.

“Sadly, glaucoma is a long-term, chronic condition, sometimes referred to as a silent thief of sight,” explained Subhash. “It is essential that people have regular eye health checks so that glaucoma can be detected and treated early. Treatment is life-long and most people will start with eye drops. The difficulty we find is that people often stop using drops as they don’t understand that the drop is helping to control the pressure in the eye which in turn protects the optic nerve and saves sight. I am delighted to open the Huntingdon store and help to educate Vision Express staff about glaucoma and treatment.”

ision Express at Tesco Huntingdon store manager, Debra Wiltshire said: “With an estimated 1,707 locals living with glaucoma, we’re here to ensure their vision is the best it can be. We have over 100 ways to test your eyes, to assess how they’re working and help detect serious conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and increased risk of stroke. It’s great that Vision Express is now in such a convenient location for local people to drop in and get this essential health check, and we’ve been overwhelmed by the support we’ve received from the public in our opening week.”

The Huntingdon optical store is one of more than 200 ‘Vision Express at Tesco’ outlets launching across the UK in 2018 and showcases a purple-infused rebrand being introduced across the entire Vision Express network.

With a refreshed logo and striking purple and green colour décor the new stores feature bright sofas and wooden flooring, delivering a modern, inviting and vibrant environment to encourage customers to feel at ease.

Vision Express’ acquired Tesco Opticians at the end of 2017. In preparation for the expected increase in demand for frames prompted by the acquisition, a £1.5 million investment has been made at Vision Express’ Nottingham-based Technical Centre.

The national home of Vision Express’ laboratory, the Technical Centre currently produces more than one million pairs of glasses a year but following the investment, production capacity is expected to double during 2018.

Vision Express CEO Jonathan Lawson added: “This is a hugely exciting time for the Vision Express family, and we’re delighted to welcome new team members to the company and provide a seamless eye health service to former Tesco optical customers. Crucially, we’re pleased to now be able to offer our vision expertise in a convenient location to residents.”

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