"The contact lens clinic is an absolute joke"

I've been visiting the contact lens clinic for quite a few years now following squint surgery and the need for a prosthetic contact lens due to pupil displacement. I'm now seen every 12 months and it's simply to check on the condition of my eye.

Now, every 3 months I am supposed, emphasis on this, to have a new soft-prosthetic lens. This is very rarely the case. On my last appointment I was under the assumption that I was due to receive my latest batch to find there wasn't any on file and that they'd have to ordered. This isn't the first time it's happened, in fact, it happens quite regularly and they can take what I consider to be a long time to be delivered.

I don't wear the prosthetic lens for the sake of it, I wear it due to high anxiety levels. Aside from this, I have also mentioned that the lenses get really uncomfortable towards the end of the 3 months and I was, in a roundabout way, told unlucky, they should be lasting that amount of time and we won't change how often you can have them. On my recent appointment, probably around 2 weeks ago, I attended with a lens that is 5 months old, which I have still been forced to wear due to not receiving them in a timely fashion. I was in agony but was told the lens looked perfectly fine on the eye but they'd order, with a swift apology for the last one that they failed to order. Long story short, I had to attend an urgent care centre on Sunday due to an infection in the eye (due to prolonged use of the contact lens).

I have to travel a fair distance to pick up these contact lenses, there has been three occasions when I have turned up and there was no one there. I've spoken with the Lead Orthoptist, I actually sat down for 15 minutes to voice my opinions based on the above and they were very apologetic and said the lenses would be posted to me. I'm still yet to receive any lenses from my last visit and despite ringing and leaving voicemails, I can't get in contact with anyone.

Following on from the above, I have since requested to be transferred to the eye centre at Birmingham City Hospital, which again will be quite a travel for me but I just can't put up with the inadequate service provided by New Cross.