GPs already prescribe in bulk cos they know people pay per prescription not per amount-on-that-prescription, or will help people time stuff to fit on 3-monthly prepayment certs.
Ear suction, a common issue for earmould users and some people with nasty wax (causes infections and vertigo) is now no longer a GP service and requires audiology referral, except many no longer do it. Charges for that privately are £50-95. I know deaf people who need it every 6 months.
My new glasses x2 are £950 and only £120 of that is frames as I reused my current ones already and they're falling apart. I'm lucky to be able to afford it. If I was actually poor, I'd not be able to have the blue ones at all. I can't just order online cos I need them properly fitted to my wonky face/eyes. They're talking about a replacement in 12 not 24 months this time too - I will try and stretch that.
I know the feeling, I have a complex prescription and pay a similar amount. Fortunately, the optician I uses has a scheme I pay into monthly, I get free eye examinations and also get 50% off all lenses and frames. For me I get back as much as or more than I put in, it's basically an insurance scheme spreading the load- like the NHS should be......
I get sod all from the NHS, haven't see a GP for 10 yrs, what its and bits I needed I had to pay for myself, not disssimilar for my SO.
Even when I was a wee bairn (had complex prescritions since I was 4 or 5) and got "free glasses" it wasn't what it was made out to be. You only got 1 pair of glasses a year and that was the cheapest lens and those nasty "NHS" frames (carrot-red hair, NHS glasses, undiagnosed autistic = odd, you can imagine what fun my schooldays were[n't]
). So, I wasnt allowed to wear my glasses for games and stuff or even for outside play in case I broke them as at the time my parent couldn't have afforded to replace them. Strangely enough I could never catch a ball (couldnt see it coming) and so was never "picked" for teams and hence developed a long-lasting antipathy to team sports and to those who over-promote them. Then when I was about 9 years old, the people at the "refraction clinic" I was dragged along to every 6 months gave my mam a really good ticking off and told her I must be allowed to wear my glasses outside, and all the time. I still remember walking home with them on and marvelling at all this stuff I could see, at being able to read the signs and stuff, wow!.
Wasn't until I was working and went to a decent independent optician that I had more than one pair of glasses with the up to date prescription, these days I get the high-refractive index lenses which make a HUGE difference to quality of vision. My prescription rarely changes so I have "built up" a stash of a couple of extra spare pairs of glasses which means I can use an old pair for gardening and stuff. (I'm good with my frames too, I have a set of frames that I wore daily for 4 years which are still in good nick).
Problem is with the NHS is that it's a great idea- but the implementation really needs dragging into the 21st century using best practice from Europe (e.g. I'd be perfectly happy for a contribution to the costs of my lenses thanks as the optician I use is excellent thanks). However, as a concept/symbol the NHS has become a religion and so we cannot criticise it, and this sacredness also gives the right-wingers the shield they need to hollow out the implementation behind the logo by selling chunks to the USA vultures (although that's maybe a tad unfair on vultures).
GC
