Thanks!
 

Penny and Chetna

Thanks for your flexibility and care over the years. I have my fingers crossed for the future of RAF eyecare.

CM

Thank you
 

Penny & Chetna

What an efficient, professional service you've provided over the years. No need to apologise for the demise of the service either - we all know the forces are being 'nibbled to death by ducks' and this premium service sadly is a victim of that culture. I'm sure in time the Birmingham clinic will function as advertised - however it won't be nearly half as much fun as coming to visit either of you!

Kind regards for the future.

Great system! I rang Birmingham. They told me to take my last lens packets to my local optician and ask for some more of the same. I went to SpecSavers. They told me (as advised earlier in this thread) that they must have a current signed prescription. Otherwise, make an appointment and pay £20 for the consultation before the lenses can be ordered.

BTW, another reason for aircrew needing to wear lenses is ejection. You are quite likely to lose specs, and damage yourself at the same time. If E&E is necessary, imperfect vision and facial damage are not helpful. Contact lenses do remarkably well in ejection. They started to become fairly standard for Harrier pilots with the advent of the GR7 and night ground attack, as the number of optical devices between the pilot and the target got greater.

There are quite a few sites on the internet you can get lenses from, www.contactlenses.co.uk is one. You do have to enter current optician but just put cranwell. There are a few other sites as well. I will use them in the short term until brum get their admin sorted.

Lenses from Birmingham
 

Dear all,

Unfortunately, here's another issue which adds to the confusion of contact lens sourcing from Birmingham.

I've been contacted by the Head Optometrist at Birmingham, whose optical assistant (Lena Hicks) has been inundated with orders for contact lenses which she is unable to action for legal reasons. This problem is affecting NHS patients who require specialist lenses for medical reasons, and have been unable to get through to the department due to the volume of calls. She has kindly requested that RAF aircrew contact Wg Cdr Scott for advice on the following number:
0121 554 3801 and ask for Wg Cdr Scott's secretary.

This really seems to be going from bad to worse. I hope there is formal clarification on this very soon.

Chetna

Try Buy Contact Lenses online from the Contact Lens Shop - Vision Express


I get mine from them and they always seem to be slightly cheaper than Specsavers....and you can get them online and delivered to your home address.

C Hinecap.
You've come across as naive and foolish. There's no point in trying to come across as all intellectual with your "myopic" comments, etc. You've got it wrong and ought to admit it. As aircrew we have to wear certain brands of lens. That is RAF specified. And we pay cost price. The end. There's no special treatment for us aircrew. So get over it. Please put it to bed. All we are endeavouring to do is to find out the process.

Today's advice from the medical centre is that, if you need a consultation by the supplying optician, the cost can be claimed back, at least until the end of March.

Update
 

Hi Folks - more info

I discussed the situation with the secretary yesterday and was told that BMEC (Birmingham and Midlands Eye Centre) won't be ready until March and that they are also unable to supply CLs at this time.

I was also told that they still don't have the notes from OASC??? that bit is quite worrying.

I was advised to take whatever I had along to my local opticians and ask for an issue which I could purchase at my own expense.

I arranged for a late start (time off already) and walked into my civilian specs supplier. Needless to say....I shouldn't have gone to! as they were not too helpful. I was informed that I needed to see an optician at a cost. I left and went to the really fast opticians and result....I can have exactly what I need on Saturday as long as when my docs pitch up I can fax a copy of my prescription for their reference/records.

HOWEVER, the cost was massive £140 for only 2-months supply. It would be cheaper to be on a DD of course.

I now have the delights of JPA to contend with to recoup some (obviously not all) of my costs. That'll be tomorrows joys of joys no doubt.

I was a bit 'dischuffed' by lunchtime so phoned for a Doctors apptmt to discuss. Whilst the Dr was very sympathetic, there wasn't a great deal that she could do. I have asked for a formal referral to BMEC just in case my 'calling forward' fails to materialize.

I now have a copy of the letter from Air Cmd addressed to all SMOs and DII'd 20090105-Aircrew Contact Lens-U. It may be worth getting a copy?

I'd just like to add - we have gone from using a centre of excellence in provision of care with very few staff looking after how many ???? (insert figure) to now having many ???? scattered far and wide and struggling to find informed guidance from several Med Ctrs scattered across the RAF with the associated admin burden to everyone.

Thank you Sirs/Ma'ams - You really have excelled with the QCIT, value stream analysis or lean process this time......WELL DONE. Its now taken me a month to do what I used to be able to achieve in a 2-minute phonecall to Jo.

SA - slightly miffed

I have been reading this thread with despair. I was lucky enough to be warned and pre-ordered a 6 month supply of contact lenses last year. I am flabbergasted that the management of change has been so poor. I have been trying to find out what was going on so I could order some more contacts only to find answering machines, dead-ends and a total lack of information :ugh:.

To those who have initiated this change for better or worse PLEASE:

Send a PAN air force email telling us what, when and where things are happening. IT IS GOOD TO TALK!

Penny and Chetna: May I echo the comments of others here by saying thank you for your advice and help over the last 10 years or so. You provided a friendly, flexible and very professional service :D (the powers at be please take note).

Has anybody had any success ordering contact lenses from Birmingham? I’ve not had any calls returned! :ugh::ugh::ugh:
I know that as aircrew we tend to get the job done, order elsewhere, get by, but this is such a state that I want to keep this thread alive. Would a private optician just cut off their patients?

Medical Care second to none???
 

Mac - you are right, it won't do any good to repeat what has already been said.

Albert - not that I'm aware of. We have 6 on the Sqn struggling that I know of.

However, in my case I'm about due another batch as are others serving with me. I know of one who has gone autonomous and registered completely with a civ practitioner and I'm likely to do the same.

One of the 6 spoke directly to the Wg Cdr optician at Birmingham who has stated that they are nowhere near ready to undertake the task and it may be some time yet.

I asked about the location of records back in Feb and again today and they are ALL still at OASC as Birmingham have no storage for them and due to the Data Prot Act I couldn't get a copy of my prescription faxed through! I'm still waiting to receive my info 2 months after formally applying at the med ctr on a FMed whatever.

My concern, however unlikely, is that if I got a civ prescription and it was different to my prescrition issued by Penny and Chetna where would I stand insurance wise?? Surely whatever I use has to be 'rubber stamped' by the RAF Med Auth.

As an extra point I had my JPA claim rejected for the difference between what I used to pay and the increased sum I had to pay due to the rug being pulled. I've since been told by the Med Ctr staff that we may (stress - MAY) be able to get the difference back but I don't hold out much hope.

SA

Update:

I spoke to my med centre to ask for an update. They contacted Birmingham who said that ‘they are still not up and running, so go to a local optician and then try and claim the money back’. I then asked for my prescription but was told that they have no ideal where my documents would be.

The staff at the med centre were very helpful but thought there was not a big problem, mainly because aircrew had been sourcing contacts from other means and had not raise concerns to them. However, after hearing about my issues it is now going to be raised at Practice Manager level.

I suggest everyone with issues regarding contact lenses to have them forwarded to your Practice Manager to ensure they are given the appropriate visibility.

For all of you folks complaining about the fact that contact lenses are available and worn, I say only this.

Steely eyed pilots and specs? Don't be daft! Image, man, IMAGE!!

Blimey, what is the world coming to?

:):)

Doc C

Does COS Health know?
 

Has anyone highlighted this debacle to COS Health?

It is about time that the clown who made the crass decision to close the Cranwell Optom dept is held to account.....or gets the Birmingham dept up and running asap (i.e yesterday).:(

DH

Morning all,

Has anyone had any luck getting lenses from Birmingham; my supply has almost run out.

What cheap alternative suppliers online have people found to cover until Birmingham FINALLY get up and running?


Cheers

AA,

I asked my med centre 3 weeks ago to chase this issue - so far, no response. The debacle continues......:hmm:

DH

Anybody heard anything more on this? Any new numbers to call etc?

med centre the answer
 

AA,

Spoke to med centre who confirmed that they have set up contract with local optom - I'm booked in for eye test and confirmation of prescription and the lenses are ordered for me there and then (bill goes direct to med centre). It appears that Birmingham NHS agreement is a long way from being an effective alternative to Cranwell.

Don't worry, somebody is bound to have got promoted for this great scheme.

DH

Further to DHs post
 

Having asked for my notes/data back in Feb under the Data Protection Act and not heard anything by early April I reattacked and was told that all our notes are now in a sealed box in the main Med Ctr at Cranwell awaiting transfer.
After asking who I should redress because of the debacle, I was given a CFS1 and told to make an appointment with the contracted Sleaford Opticians. As I feared, my prescription had changed. However, because I had gone armed with a CFS1 and because the form gets returned to the med ctr to be put on my Fmed4 on completion; I'm still cleared to continue without any potential of questions being asked in the future. I had my new batch of lenses within 4 days and those worried I may have made a similar MPs expenses claim, I paid for them at the normal market price. I also have a specs and lenses prescription that I could use on line which was all I was after in the first place.:ok:

My claim for the eye test has been submitted through JPA.

So it has actually turned out to be an easy fix albeit 6-months on. It makes you wonder if we need Selly to stand up if the med ctrs can set up contracts doesn't it?

Hope this helps

SA