NHS Radiographer Lauren’s day starts whilst the clock hand shows 5:45 am, and after a demanding 12-hour shift of scanning images and assessing patients, her eyes often bear the brunt of the workload. “You’re looking for tiny fractures, obviously sometimes you’d be quite like right up close to the screen looking.”

Inspiration was found close to home, with her dad having a successful 10 years of 20|20 vision following his laser eye surgery. Aware of the transformative benefits, she needed a catalyst to take the leap herself. That spark came through Optical Express’ ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign, which offered free procedures to dedicated NHS staff like her. A successful application later, her journey began in earnest.

First impressions reassured Lauren she was on the right path: “It was brilliant, I mean from the first time I walked into the clinic for my pre-op assessment, I couldn’t get over how clean and professional it all looked, it was like very sort of bougie.”

With over £500 million invested in clinics and state-of-the-art technology, plus a team of the country’s leading eye surgeons, Optical Express has earned its reputation as a trusted choice.

As Lauren explains: “I had a really bad prescription, I’m telling you now, everything would be a blur in this office, it was insane, I was really, really blind and I have been for years, but till today knowing I have nothing in my eyes, I have no contacts, I’m not wearing glasses, the difference in absolutely insane, I can put my hands up and just see the difference. It’s magical, it’s a miracle.”

Optical Express first launched the ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign in 2017 and donated £1 million worth of free laser eye surgery to NHS and Emergency Service workers. The campaign relaunched in 2023 with Optical Express donating another £1 million worth of laser eye surgery. It’s our way of saying a big thank you to the NHS and Emergency Service workers for the great work that they do.