The number of people having laser eye surgery in the UK has increased following a boost in March 2006 when the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued their guidance that laser eye treatment was sufficiently safe and effective to be carried out on appropriately selected patients.

Since then, the number of clinics offering laser eye surgery has increased. The three UK laser eye chains – Optical Express, Optimax and Ultralase – have all stated plans to increase the number of clinics they run.

The credit crunch and stock market falls have led to a dip in recent weeks reported by most consultants doing private laser eye correction. However the overall trend has been a rise in the number of procedures carried out in the UK.

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Overall all laser eye surgery prices are increasing or set to increase. The cost of new technology to give you better and safer surgery is very high and needs to be constantly updated. Even though FOCUS have the UK’s best prices, you will find the trend everywhere will be up.

For example, laser clinics used to need one laser at a cost of £1/3 million. Now they need two to offer blade free dual laser LASIK, total cost £2/3 million and treatment prices are no different on average to back in 2000.

In a nutshell it costs a lot to do this type of treatment and costs are only increasing. The benefit of that though: highly accurate treatments with better safety than ever before.

At FOCUS, we made a decision to buy the very best technology and to bring that to the UK at the lowest price so that more people could afford to get fantastic levels of surgeon, service and technology, all without compromise. That is not hype. It is just what we have wanted to do.

But all of that does cost and has to be paid for. And no government bail-outs for anyone in healthcare! Unlike some banks we have to be prudent, cautious and look after our customers without risk so that we will be here next week, next month and next year.

Price wars in the US a few years ago meant cheaper surgery at first. Then bankrupt clinics closing with people having to pay all over again in order to get their aftercare. Not a good result for patients in the end.

You may see some special offers following these recent economic changes until things level out and then improve again. You may want to take advantage of those, as longer term costs will go up.