“I really wanted freedom from glasses”, Macmillan Nursing Support Assistant Laura tells us following her participation in the 2023 ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign, when Optical Express was able to grant her request for free.

With an active personal and professional life, Laura was motivated to ditch glasses and lenses to simplify the everyday: “I like to wake up in the morning, my routine’s my own: going swimming, waking up and seeing my son.” Her mum had the same procedure 20 years prior and with lasting clear vision, Laura took it as inspiration for her decision to apply.

On the day of her procedure, Laura was extremely impressed by the technology in our clinics, sharing that it seemed almost ‘futuristic’ and how she enjoyed our team’s explanations of the various equipment.

The day of the procedure was not a long one: “Before I knew it, I was sitting up and it was done”. In only a matter of minutes, Laura gained the freedom she was searching for and is now able to play with her son, drive her car, and choose the perfect pair of sunglasses without hindrance.

“From start to finish, I’ve felt a bit like a VIP,” Laura says of her experience with Optical Express.

Helping our incredible NHS and Emergency Service workers feel important and recognised for the work they do has been one of many goals of this campaign. Optical Express first launched the ‘Thanks a Million’ campaign in 2017, donating £1 million worth of free laser eye surgery to NHS and Emergency Service workers.

The campaign since relaunched in 2023 with Optical Express donating another £1 million worth of laser eye surgery as a way of saying ‘thank you’ to those who work tirelessly every day to help safeguard our communities.