Our Services
Opticians
Your eyes are precious, and we'll help you look after them. From discovering the perfect frames, to having your eye test, at John Lewis Opticians in our shops you'll find the personal advice, latest ranges and specialist attention your eyes deserve.
Eye test
£25
Fee is redeemable against purchase.
£25 cost does not apply to customers in Scotland who are eligible for a free NHS eye test.
Contact lens aftercare
£25
Contact lens check-up (30 mins) £25 or free for 'Contacts by Mail' customers.
This appointment doesn't include a sight test. A sight test might be necessary following your check-up but you will be advised of this during your appointment by a member of our team.
(Eye tests are free when you buy your glasses from us)
Our Service
£25 eye test (free to under 16s)
Walk-in or bookable appointments
Prescription glasses and sunglasses
Digital retina photography (OCT)
Contact lenses for adults and children
Eye style consultation to help you find your frames
Same day single-vision lenses available at selected shops
Brands we love
Your eye test
We’re committed to providing the very best quality when it comes to eye tests and dedicate sufficient time to all patients to ensure the very best in eye care.
Why have an eye test?
Regular eye tests help protect the clarity of your vision, but can also gauge the general health of your eyes, and identify conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Whatever your age, we recommend that you have an eye examination at least every two years, every year for children and people aged over 70.
Your eye test explained
A standard eye test lasts around 30 minutes and the optician will use a range of tests tailored to your individual needs. All our eye tests are carried out using the very best in eye examination technology and your optician will provide explanations at each stage. We’ll also ask you about your sight, your and your family’s health and your lifestyle.
As part of a standard eye examination in the majority of our stores, we use retinal screening to look in far greater detail at the health of your inner eye and identify a range of potential conditions.
We’ll offer advice in relation to eye care in terms of your age, diet and lifestyle, using computers, driving, pregnancy and general health
Health & aftercare
Healthcare
As part of your eye examination we use an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) machine to take images of your eyes.
The images produced have a greater depth and higher resolution to enable Optometrists to look at the retina and the interior of your eye in greater detail.
Specifically, OCT is beneficial for detecting potentially serious eye conditions like glaucoma, macular degeneration and diabetic macular conditions.
It also enables Optometrists to see the optical arteries in true colour imagery. This is particularly beneficial to check for fat deposits, which can be indicator of heart disease. We cannot diagnose this, but the Optometrist will refer you to your GP.
Aftercare
Our eye test comes with free aftercare. Bring along the glasses or sunglasses you bought from us, and we'll take care of everything from cleaning to adjustments.
Book an appointment
Our Opticians service is available in the John Lewis & Partners shops listed; call or book an appointment via the button.
Bluewater: 01322 384568
Cardiff: 02920 536060
Cheadle: 0161 4289373
Edinburgh: 0131 558 7082
Glasgow: 0141 332 3864
Kingston: 020 8549 1089
Leeds: 0113 244 1219
Milton Keynes: 01908 231891
Oxford: 01865 240172
Oxford St: 020 7409 0503
Reading: 0118 9508047
Stratford City: 0208 532 3570
Welwyn: 01707 325 838
White City Westfield: 0208 834 4750
Contact lenses
We offer a Direct Mail Programme, a direct debit plan for contact lenses, including monthly, twice-monthly and daily lenses.
We’ll send your lenses, solution and cases to arrive at your chosen location every three months free of charge, in a package that fits through your letterbox
Prices start from £17 per month for monthly lenses and £12 per month for dailies (solution and cases are not included with daily lenses). Along with your delivery, you’ll also receive a range of benefits including:
- expert aftercare including an annual sight test
- free replacement lenses if you lose or damage your lenses
- a range of offers and discounts with us, including 30% off a complete pair of prescription or non-prescription glasses
Ask for more details and sign up in store.
Contact lenses for children
Although the age group usually starts at 8-10 years old, there isn’t a definitive age for children to start wearing contact lenses, and it will also depend on our optometrist’s recommendation.
Our optometrists will consider your child’s ability to clean, care and handle the lenses independently, as well as how long they should be worn for each day.
Until they’re 16 years old, the parent or guardian is responsible for making sure the child follows all advice and guidelines, so we recommend supervising them until they get used to inserting and removing the contact lenses.
Ask your Optometrist about suitability and the different options we can offer.
Our exchange policy
If for any reason you're not completely happy with your purchase, we offer an exchange within 35 days of receiving your glasses. This includes prescription glasses and sunglasses, but excludes items that are accidentally damaged.
NHS eye tests
The NHS will cover the full cost of an eye test with us for anyone who qualifies. In some cases, the NHS will also give an optical voucher towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses.
Who qualifies?
Aged under 16
- You qualify for an NHS-funded eye test and an NHS optical voucher for glasses
- You need to show your birth certificate in-store as proof of age
Aged 16 - 18 and in full-time education
- You qualify for an NHS-funded eye examination and an NHS optical voucher for glasses
- You need to show your passport or driving licence and a Student card in store as proof
Aged 60 or over
- You qualify for an NHS-funded eye examination
- You need to show your national insurance number or a passport or driving licence in store as proof
Registered as partially sighted (sight impaired) or blind (severely sight impaired)
- You qualify for an NHS-funded eye examination
- You need to show a certificate of registration as partially sighted or blind in store as proof
Diagnosed with diabetes or glaucoma
- You qualify for an NHS-funded eye examination
- You will need to give your doctor’s name and surgery address and supply a statement that you suffer from diabetes or glaucoma
Aged 40 or over and are the parent/brother/sister/child of a person who has or had glaucoma
- You qualify for an NHS-funded eye examination
- You need to show your national insurance number or a passport or a driving licence in store as proof
Advised by an ophthalmologist that you are at risk of glaucoma
- You qualify for an NHS-funded eye examination
- You will need to show a statement that you are at risk of developing a glaucoma in-store as proof that you qualify
Have been prescribed complex lenses under the NHS optical voucher scheme
You qualify for an NHS-funded eye test (and an NHS optical voucher for glasses)
No proof needed; the optician will decide during the eye examination if you need complex lenses
You receive benefits or your partner receives benefits that entitle you to NHS eye care
- You qualify for an NHS-funded eye test (and an NHS optical voucher for glasses)
- You’ll need to bring an entitlement letter stating the benefits you receive
- Partners need to be married or living together, be able to show proof of this and the benefit provided
You or your partner are receiving Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
- You qualify for an NHS-funded eye test (and an NHS optical voucher for glasses)
- You will need to bring an award notice from the Pension Centre
Entitled to, or named on, a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate
- You qualify for an NHS-funded eye test (and an NHS optical voucher for glasses)
- You will need to bring a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate
Free eye consultation - terms and conditions
NHS England
You will qualify for a free NHS-funded eye test if you are:
- Under 16*, or aged 16, 17 or 18 and in full-time education
- Aged 60 or over
- Registered blind or partially-sighted
- Diagnosed with diabetes or glaucoma
- Aged 40 or over, and you are the parent, brother,sister,son or daughter of a person diagnosed with glaucoma, or you have been advised by an ophthalmologist that you are at risk of glaucoma
- Eligible for an NHS complex lens voucher
- A prisoner on leave from prison
- Receiving Income Support or Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (not contribution-based)
- Receiving Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, or Income-based Employment and Support Allowance
- Awarded Universal Credit
- Entitled to, or named on, a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate
- Named on a valid NHS certificate for full help with health costs (HC2)
If you’re named in a valid NHS HC3W you may be able to get some help towards the cost of a private sight test.
Please present evidence of your eligibility when you arrive for your appointment, or talk to one of our optometrists for further details.
*Also entitled to NHS vouchers towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses.
NHS Wales
You will qualify for a free NHS-funded eye test if you are:
- Under 16*, or aged 16, 17 or 18 and in full-time education*
- Aged 60 or over
- Registered blind or partially-sighted
- Diagnosed with glaucoma or diabetes
- Aged 40 or over, and you are the parent, brother,sister,son or daughter of a person diagnosed with glaucoma, or you have been advised by an ophthalmologist that you are at risk of glaucoma
- In need of complex lenses*
- A patient or partner in receipt of Income Support, Income-related Employment and Support
- Allowance, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance or Pension Credit Guarantee Credit.*
- Named on a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate*
Named on a valid NHS HC2W certificate
If your sight test is carried out by a hospital eye department as part of the management of an optical condition, you will also qualify. If you’re named in a valid NHS HC3W you may be able to get some help towards the cost of a private sight test.
Under the Eye Health Examination Wales (EHEW) initiative, you’re also entitled to have your eyes examined free of charge by a registered optometrist if you have an eye problem that occurred suddenly (acutely) which you think requires urgent attention.
You can also have a free eye test under EHEW if you:
• have been referred by your GP to an EHEW-registered optometrist because of an eye problem
• have sight in one eye only, i.e. you’re effectively blind in your worse eye
• have a hearing impairment and are profoundly deaf
• suffer from Retinitis Pigmentosa
• have Black African, Black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi family origins
• are at risk of eye disease by other reasons of race or family history
Please present evidence of your eligibility when you arrive for your appointment, or talk to oneof our optometrists for further details.
*Also entitled to NHS vouchers towards the cost of glasses or contact lenses.
NHS Scotland
NHS Scotland will cover the full cost of an eye test with us for anybody who is resident in the UK, under the following conditions:
An NHS-funded ‘primary’ eye exam once every 2 years if:
- Aged between 16-59 years
- Diagnosed with glaucoma
- Diagnosed with ocular hypertension
- Aged 40 years or over with a close* family history of glaucoma (*father, mother, brother, sister, son or daughter)
An NHS-funded ‘primary’ eye exam once a year if:
- Aged under 16 years
- Aged over 60 years
- Diagnosed with diabetes
- Under 16, or aged 16, 17 or 18 and in full-time education
- Eligible for an NHS complex lens voucherReceiving Income Support or Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (not contribution-based)
- Receiving Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, or Income-based Employment and Support Allowance
- Awarded Universal Credit
- Entitled to, or named on, a valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate
- Named on a valid NHS certificate for full help with health costs (HC2)
If you’re named on a valid NHS HC3 you may be able to get some help towards the cost of glasses.
Please present evidence of your eligibility when you arrive for your appointment, or talk to one of our optometrists for further details.
John Lewis Opticians is operated by Luxottica Retail UK Ltd.
Veralum Point, Station Way, St. Albans, Hertfordshire AL1 5HE