According to an Ipsos poll commissioned by the opticians group Krys, the French are increasingly inclined to sacrifice their sight on the altar of the crisis and the shortage of ophthalmologists. In certain medical deserts in France, the drop in the number of these eye doctors often leads to delays of 6 to 12 months in obtaining an appointment. These cases are far from isolated, since 43% of those questioned consider that it has become very difficult to get an appointment within a reasonable time.
But once they get their precious appointment and the prescription for a new pair of glasses, the French don’t immediately rush to the optician. Many people postpone their change of glasses because of the cost and what remains to be borne by them: 54% of patients still consider the part they have to pay to be too high and which will not be reimbursed. And 66% of them even admit to having already delayed the moment to change their glasses, due to lack of means.
As a direct consequence of the economic crisis, 12% of those questioned admit to having given up eye care, at the risk of suffering from problems that will worsen. A situation that Jean-Pierre Champion, managing director of the Krys group, finds “very serious” because the sight check is not a simple routine examination but a real health examination which deserves to be taken seriously.
2 in 3 French people wear glasses
According to the annual visual health barometer published by the National Association for the Improvement of Sight (Asnav), in 2013, more than two in three French people wear glasses (73%) or lenses (7%). Asnav, for its part, is more optimistic than Krys opticians because, in its latest barometer, 78% of people questioned claimed to have had their eyesight checked for less than two years (compared to 66% in 2005) and 87% said that they changed their glasses within one month of receiving their prescription.
