Plymouth local opens new optician after sight was saved following crucial eye test at Vision Express

The new ‘Vision Express at Tesco’ store in Plymouth has officially opened its doors, with a celebration led by a Mount Batten resident, who has spoken out about the need for people to prioritise their eye health after she was frighteningly close to losing the sight in both her eyes.

Victoria Randall, 26, had been experiencing poor vision for several weeks and, despite trying several different prescriptions from her local optician, her sight continued to fail. Having received an eye test voucher from Vision Express, Victoria decided to seek a second opinion and booked an appointment at the Vision Express Plymouth store on New George Street.

“I was getting really quite concerned about my sight and no one at my previous opticians seemed to be giving me any answers,” Victoria explained. “During my eye test the optometrist stopped and asked if I’d ever heard of keratoconus.  She explained that it is a condition that causes the cornea to weaken, get thinner and change shape, and my right eye was very badly affected.”

Vision Express optometrist Jodie Wearn, called Victoria’s previous optician and was advised that they were aware of her condition and they were monitoring it.  Unfortunately, it had developed to a stage where action needed to be taken immediately in order to save her sight and avoid a corneal transplant.  Jodie directed Victoria to her GP and instructed her to ask for an urgent referral to the Royal Eye Infirmary.

Victoria added: “The consultant at the Royal Eye Infirmary told me that I would need four separate operations to stop my sight from getting any worse and referred me to the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, West Sussex.  They also deemed me unable to drive so I had to give up my driving license.

“It was a big shock to be told that my cornea was very close to popping, which would have resulted in vision loss. However, it was a relief to finally know what was going on with my eyes.”

Keratoconus affects between one in three thousand to one in ten thousand people.  The exact cause is unknown but there may be a genetic link and it’s more common in people with multiple allergic conditions, such as eczema and asthma.

Victoria has had three out of her four operations so far at the Queen Victoria Hospital – a 12 hour round trip from where she lives with her husband Tim.  As she also suffers from a nerve condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) she has been confined to her wheelchair throughout this period, as she is unable to balance safely on her crutches with her impaired sight.

“The procedures have been far from pleasant as I’ve had to be conscious the whole time,” Victoria explained.  “At the moment I’m recovering from my last surgery, which has left me with corneal hazing – this means my vision is blurred and out of focus as the healing takes place.

“That aside, I’m so happy and grateful to Vision Express for identifying what was wrong and ensuring that I was treated as quickly as possible.  Without the diagnosis from the simple eye test I’d be looking at a much worse outcome, which doesn’t bear thinking about.”

Victoria was recently invited by the national optician to perform a ribbon cutting at its new ‘Vision Express at Tesco’ store in Plymouth, which offers vision expertise in a convenient location for local residents.

Jo Evers-King, store manager at the new outlet said: “We were honoured to welcome Victoria to our store, to help us celebrate our opening. It’s really important that we share stories such as Victoria’s as many people don’t realise that so much can be picked up from a short eye exam that you would otherwise be unaware of.

“As soon as anyone notices sight changes such as blurring, flashing lights or black spots you should see an optician immediately so that any issue can be resolved as quickly and effectively as possible.”

The Plymouth store is one of more than 200 outlets launching across the UK in 2018, following Vision Express’ acquisition of Tesco Opticians at the end of last year.

The new stores showcase a purple-infused rebrand being introduced across the entire Vision Express network, which features a refreshed logo, striking purple and green colour décor, bright sofas and wooden flooring, delivering a modern, inviting and vibrant environment to encourage customers to feel at ease.

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 convenient locations to residents.”