Dementia Care
Can someone with dementia have an eye test at home?
Short answer: Yes — and a home eye test is usually far better for a person with dementia than a high-street visit. A home setting is familiar and calm, a carer or family member can stay throughout, and the optometrist can adapt the test to the patient's cognitive ability — using pictures, matching cards, or shorter checks if reading a letter chart is too difficult. The NHS funds the visit in full for eligible patients.
Why home is usually kinder
Dementia makes unfamiliar places harder to process. The strip lighting, background noise and queues of a high-street optician can cause real distress. At home, the patient stays in their own chair, with their own view, and a familiar face is right next to them. We've seen patients who refused to leave the car for a high-street test complete a full home visit calmly.
How we adapt the test
- If letter charts are too abstract, we use picture charts or matching cards.
- If concentration is short, we break the test into two or three quieter sections.
- If the patient can't reliably say which lens is clearer, we use objective tests (retinoscopy) that don't require verbal feedback.
- We work to the patient's pace — never the clock's.
What carers can do
Tell us in advance about the patient's diagnosis, how they communicate, and any triggers (touch, bright light, certain words). Be present in the room. Hold their hand if that helps. If a particular time of day is better — many people with dementia are sharpest mid-morning — we'll book around it.
NHS funding
A diagnosis of dementia almost always meets the NHS criterion of being "unable to leave home unaccompanied". The sight test is fully funded. See our eligibility answer for the full rules.
Source: College of Optometrists guidance on sight-testing patients with dementia; Alzheimer's Society information on sight and dementia.
Need to speak to someone?
Our team will check your eligibility over the phone in under two minutes — no obligation.