Right to Respond

As part of our commitment to providing an honest and transparent view of health and social care services, Healthwatch Birmingham encourages providers to respond to comments the public have left.

Alongside ensuring providers can have a fair say in discussions about their services, replying to reviews demonstrates evidence of responding to patient feedback for the CQC, who regularly monitor our Feedback Centre. It is also an effective way to recruit service users for any wider engagement work at your organisation.

Guidelines for provider responses:

  • Keep language appropriate and civil
  • Remain professional and treat people’s comments fairly
  • Engage with the content of the review by addressing specific points and avoid cut and pasting a standard response
  • Don’t disclose the service user’s personal details or any potentially identifying information
  • Where appropriate leave organisational contact details e.g PALS or patient engagement teams for people to get further information

Remember: your response will be seen by everyone who uses the Feedback Centre, not just the original reviewer. All responses are moderated in accordance with our moderation policy.

For full terms and conditions, including a guide to how right to reply works for service providers download this guide.

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Original feedback for

Specsavers - Kings Heath


You have to pay if you need more than 1 pair

I am on income based support, so allegedly free glasses - no they are not - you have to pay if you need more than one pair. I booked for downstairs online appointment and checked about free glasses online before eye test. Firstly they wanted to rebook as more than one booking for downstairs, as I use crutches since 2001 with spine damage L3/L4/L5 I cannot do stairs unless on bum. I was then told to wait whilst other person had appointment. During exam I was asked if I wanted the advanced eye screening for £10 I explained that I was totally broke and did not have any money at all. After, I spoke to sales person and asked for Adult ladies free glasses, as I did not have even £10 for the advance screening let alone cost of a frame. So I was shown the £16.99 glasses and having been told I need both reading and distant lenses, varifocals lenses these would cost me £50 plus if I want coloured lens it would be more. If I wanted separate reading I needed more expensive frame and then more money for sunglasses or second pair. I explained to optician sales person that I do not have any money at all. I had to have glasses as I have Temporal Arteritis and Relapsing Polychondritis which is another autoimmune disease which affects eyesight as well as Steroid induced diabetes as I was having the eye test with the drops later that week in another opticians as they did not do the test. Eventually after ages on the computer, he discovered that I could have cheapest frame with varifocals lenses which were the cheapest make which he said "would not be as good as the more expensive ones" but as I did not have money it was irrelevant. But no anti glare or colour change and no additional sunglasses or second pair. So I managed for the first time ever to get one pair of glasses of which the lenses popped out within the first month and I cannot get fixed as they charge for fixing which is more than I have so lense is pushed in at an angle as best as I can and my eye tests are yearly due to all my problems I have the optician doing the eye exam was insistent about the care at my eyes as soon as I told him about my Relapsing Polychondritis and Temporal issues as they can cause blindness as well as the diabetes problem sense 1 yearly tests as my eyesight changes according to the pressure at the back of the eyes and he wanted me to have 2 pairs of glasses as well as sunglasses but I could not afford to do so. The following week my diabetic eye test was carried out and I was questioned why did I not have two pairs of glasses and sunglasses so I had to explain again no money. Surely there should be away to get second pairs for these sort of conditions let alone when lenses falls out.