How Specsavers are helping to transform healthcare access in Edinburgh

Kelly was sleeping rough in a tent when she first visited Crisis Skylight Edinburgh. Legally blind and struggling with everyday tasks, she hadn’t had an eye exam for years. The thought of walking into a high street optician filled her with dread – she was embarrassed about her situation, nervous around new people.

But in the quiet surroundings of a converted church, just off the Royal Mile, with her lead worker by her side, Kelly agreed to an eye test. What followed changed everything. Vision Care not only assessed her for a new prescription, but identified a serious medical issue that needed immediate treatment. It was care that saved her sight – care she wouldn’t have accessed elsewhere.

Kelly’s story isn’t unique. In Edinburgh, people experiencing homelessness can often face barriers in accessing healthcare.

According to Vision Care, one in three people experiencing homelessness need glasses, yet nearly 65% avoid high street opticians.

“External eye infections, cataracts, untreated glaucoma – the risks are significant,” says Michael O’Kane, a Specsavers optometrist who volunteers at the Vision Care clinic. “One of the biggest issues is simply not having access to an eye test or glasses.”

Between December 2023 and March 2024, Specsavers provided £240,719.76 to renovate the second floor of Crisis Skylight Edinburgh, creating a wellness floor that’s become a one-stop shop for people rebuilding their lives.

Jenny Whyte, volunteering and involvement lead at Crisis Skylight Edinburgh, says, “The wellness floor is a fantastic resource for us. It’s enabled us to start building a local hub for people experiencing homelessness so they can access support they might not otherwise have been able to reach, and take part in activities that help with more than just their housing situation.

“We offer a whole range of support for people at risk of or experiencing homelessness around Edinburgh and the Lothians, and the Vision Care clinic is a great addition to our Skylight. It allows us to help more people, in more ways, while we support them to take their first steps out of homelessness.”

The renovation added an optical test room for Vision Care, flexible learning spaces, and wellbeing services like podiatry and hairdressing.

On wellbeing days, members can get an eye test, see a podiatrist, get CV help or join an IT drop-in – all under one roof. It’s become a hub where services work together.

Tony Wing, development manager at Vision Care, explains: “The partnership with Specsavers and Vision Care in Edinburgh, first and foremost has delivered us a high-street-level quality practice to enable us to build our work in the city. It is one of our best examples of how a clinic should look. Without the input of Specsavers, I’m not sure we would have been able to open such a well-equipped clinic.”

“The Vision Care clinic represents a unique way for us to offer support to people experiencing homelessness in Edinburgh and the Lothians,” says Mark Kennedy, director at Crisis Edinburgh. “We know that people experiencing homelessness can often struggle to access vital health services – whether that means registering with a GP or accessing other more specialist services. We also know people experiencing homelessness are more likely to have problems with their vision, yet can often face barriers in accessing the care they need. Having this clinic available for people experiencing homelessness is invaluable in helping people to improve their eye health and, ultimately, to help them on their journey out of homelessness.”

David’s experience captures its value. Rough sleeping and struggling with mental health, he came to see his lead worker but stayed for a wellbeing event. He had lunch, a haircut, podiatry treatment, and played board games. Afterwards, he called it “the best day I’ve had in ages”.

Since August 2024, the clinic has seen 67 patients and dispensed 93 pairs of spectacles – each transforming daily life for someone.

O’Kane recently treated a patient with a minus 16 prescription – extremely rare – meaning she could barely see beyond a few inches. “Her partner guided her everywhere. She’d lost her glasses almost a year ago,” he recalls. “We were able to provide new glasses. The change in her quality of life is going to be massive.”

Feedback from those who’ve used the services has been overwhelmingly positive. “It’s amazing that you’re able to offer such a wide range of health and wellbeing services for people in precarious situations who likely can’t access it elsewhere,” one said. Another added: “I didn’t realise my vision was so bad and now cannot live without my glasses. I can’t thank you enough.”

“Any of us could be three or four missed pay cheques, or maybe a significant life event like a divorce, away from homelessness,” reflects O’Kane. “Volunteering has really brought home to me just how easily it could happen to anyone.”

That understanding underpins the wellness floor – welcoming, not clinical. Services are offered without judgement. The Specsavers partnership extends beyond Edinburgh. Since November 2022, all Big Issue vendors across the UK have been offered free eye tests, glasses, and ear care. But there’s something distinct about Crisis Edinburgh. It embodies Vision Care’s mission: “We improve eye health through direct and facilitated services and work to remove barriers,” as Wing puts it. “We envision a future where no one is denied the right to sight because of their housing status. This will only work with collaborative partnerships like the one we have with Specsavers.”

Ending homelessness needs more than housing – it needs healthcare, training, community, dignity and hope. Places where people like Kelly can access care without shame, where people like David can rediscover joy, where clear vision means seeing a different future.

At Crisis Skylight Edinburgh, that difference is visible daily.