Normal Pressure Glaucoma

[Maxwell111]

Hello my mother found out recently that she has normal pressure Glaucoma she was referred to a clinic by Specsavers saying she had loss of peripheral vision. After her tests they told her that she had no loss of any vision so she informed the DVLA and recently had a test at her local Specsavers. My question is they only let her take esterman test one time without her glasses and was told she missed two lights why was she not given another oppurtunity to get 100 percent on her test. When she asked if she should do the test again they said no. The Optometrist just told her hes confident but its up to the DVLA, She is very confused

[mrswaffle]

This sounds like an odd question, but was the field test done as a result of your mum getting a letter from DVLA, telling her to get it done? There seems to be an ever-decreasing number of Specsavers branches carrying out this test. I’ve done it 3 times now & the nearest branch I’ve been offered was 20 miles away! And yes, we have got Specsavers in our town, but they don’t have the machine. I do live in a fairly rural area, but it’s not the back of beyond! So I’m wondering if your mum’s visual field test was just the standard one that I have every time I have a check up?

[Maxwell111 in reply to mrswaffle]

It was done at the request of the DVLA. They didn't seem to spend much time testing my mum as they only did the visual field test which involves a single dot of light appearing on a screen where you have to click a button

[mrswaffle in reply to Maxwell111]

Sorry, I meant to say that, with the DVLA test, you should get 3 attempts. I usually do 1 with glasses, one without & last time I insisted on my full 3 tries, as I had only just got new glasses & wanted to try with my old ones as well; they weren’t keen, kept me waiting but eventually let me do it. Also, they’re not supposed to tell you how they think you’ve done. Having said that, they’ve always told me they thought I did ok & each time I passed so maybe they are genuinely confident for your mum. Fingers crossed!

[Maxwell111]

Thankyou I think next time she does the field vision test she should insist on all three tries to get the best possible score. Also when she did the visual acuity test which is reading letters and numbers at a distance the optometrist said he's was confident in her. So fingers crossed thanksyou for your comments and information you have given i will show this to my mother hopefully it will give her some confidence it's the waiting to hear from the DVLA that's tough

[Supersec]

I believe you are meant to be given the option to do the test three times but I understand this is in case the tester feels you may not have performed it to the best of your ability not because you did not reach the DVLA requirements. I was once told I HAD to do the test three times with my glasses and three times without. I actually refused to do this as I felt the technician was misinterpreting the guidelines and I knew that I could not improve on my performance, in fact the longer the tests went on the more it affected my concentration.

Your mother should have been given a copy of both the visual field test and the visual acuity test and if she wasn’t she can request this from Specsavers. You should then be able to check that she at least meets the required visual acuity standards.

[Maxwell111]

No she wasn't given any information on her tests when she did the visual field test the lady told her she missed two lights but that was OK and when my mother asked if she needed to do the test again the technician said no she did fine very strange I have heard some soecsavers refuse to give out test information

[Supersec in reply to Maxwell111]

I don’t believe they can refuse as this is personal data and as such you have a right to access it. However, you can also request copies of the test results from the DVLA by emailing [e-mail]

[Iona57]

It sounds to me as though your Mother did very well on the test so the Specsavers person thought there was no need to repeat it. You don't have to score 100 percent in order to pass. As I understand it ( and I did find the official criteria online once ) the DVLA is especially concerned about missing vision in the central area, and the width of the field of vision at eye level. Also if the missed dots cluster together to indicate a blind patch. Apart from these, you could have a few random missing spots dotted about and it will still be ok.I completely agree that this is so stressful ( Ive been through it! ). Specsavers staff don't always seem to know the rules, and that not enough information is given to the 'customer'.

I wish your Mother all the best!

[Maxwell111 in reply to Iona57]

Thankyou lona57 Hopefully everything was fine i know on the esterman test she got 118 out of 120

And on the visual acuity test the optometrist said he was confident she would be OK

So fingers crossed I have asked dvla for a copy of the test results and will also be contacting specsavers today. Thankyou everyone for all the information and support I will pass this on to my mother