Do Opticians Visit Care Homes?

Some opticians, called domiciliary or visiting opticians, are registered with the NHS to carry out full eye examinations wherever a person lives, including care homes. One Optics is one of them. Regular sight tests matter more in a care home than almost anywhere else: poor vision is closely linked to falls, confusion and withdrawal, and it often goes unnoticed because residents stop mentioning it.

Who pays for a care home eye test?

Most care home residents qualify for a free NHS-funded sight test, either because they are 60 or over or through a qualifying condition or benefit. Residents who cannot leave the home unaccompanied also qualify to have that test at the home rather than in a practice. In practice, that covers the great majority of residents. The visiting optician checks each resident's eligibility and handles the NHS paperwork; a private test is available for anyone who does not qualify.

What a whole-home visit day looks like

Rather than sending residents out one by one, a good visiting optician tests the whole home in a planned day:

• The date is agreed in advance, and resident details and consents are gathered with the home's staff beforehand
• Residents are seen in their own rooms or a quiet lounge, worked around mealtimes, activities and rest
• Each resident has a full examination: vision, prescription and eye health, adapted to the person. Tests can be done with residents who have dementia, limited speech or limited mobility, using picture and matching methods rather than the standard letter chart
• Glasses are chosen on-site, then delivered, fitted and labelled on a return visit, which matters in a shared home

What the home needs to provide

Very little: a quiet space or the resident's own room, and a member of staff to liaise with on the day. The optician brings all the equipment.

Records, recalls and inspections

After the visit the home should receive a written outcome for every resident seen, ready for care files, plus a recall schedule so re-tests are not missed. That paper trail is exactly what inspectors like to see: evidence that residents' sensory needs are being actively managed.

Can families be involved?

Yes. With the resident's or home's agreement, next of kin can be kept updated and involved in choosing glasses. Families often ask the home who provides eye care, so having a named visiting optician is an easy question to answer well.

Choosing a visiting optician

Whoever your home uses, check three things: that the optometrist is registered with the General Optical Council (ours is, GOC No. 01-38339, and you can verify it on the public register), that they are DBS checked and safeguarding trained, and that they offer whole-home visit days rather than one-off appointments, so eye care becomes routine instead of a scramble.

Written by Bilal Abbas MCOptom, GOC No. 01-38339. Last updated: 12 September 2026