McAusland Optometrists was founded in 1984 by the McAusland family at 3 Victoria Road, a short walk from the Strand and opposite the Grapevine. Keval Sejpar joined as principal optometrist in 2014 after independent practice in London and Oxford, and chairs the Association for Independent Optometrists. Our Heidelberg Spectralis OCT has been scanning Exmouth's retinas since 2011.
Every adult eye examination is allocated forty-five minutes, not the chain-standard twenty. The Heidelberg Spectralis OCT2 with GMPE scans the retina in three dimensions at 20 kHz, and the Optomap ultra-widefield retinal photograph captures the periphery, both without dilating drops. The instrument has been in the practice since 2011; the upgrade landed July 2021. Pay-as-you-go fee £120; included from £10 a month on the Eyecare Plan.
Specialist contact lens fitting for hard-to-fit prescriptions, paediatric myopia management (MiSight, OrthoK and atropine pathways), and dry-eye work most of Devon refers to Exeter for. BlephEx and ZEST blepharitis lid-hygiene procedures, plus MGX meibomian-gland expression, all guided by a front-of-eye imaging system that shows the gland blockage on screen as it clears.
We carry over one thousand frames, hand-picked rather than algorithmically refreshed. Long-standing accounts with Tom Davies of London (bespoke), Silhouette of Austria (rimless, lighter than ten grams), Maui Jim of Hawaii (polarised sun), plus Essilor and Zeiss lens labs. Sarah Fletcher and Emma Cooling do the styling. The four global brands that dominate the high street are not on our wall.
A monthly direct-debit care plan that spreads the cost of the comprehensive eye examination (Optomap and OCT included), adds emergency access to an optometrist at no extra charge, and grants a twenty per cent loyalty discount on spectacles, prescription sunglasses, contact lenses and eyecare products. £10 per month standard; from £15 per month for contact lens wearers.
The retina is a five-layer sandwich about a third of a millimetre thick. Every adult patient at McAusland has each of those layers imaged in three dimensions at 20 kilohertz, on a Heidelberg Spectralis OCT2 with the GMPE module, without a single dilating drop. The instrument has been in the practice since 2011, longer than most chain optometrists have been qualified.
Most chain opticians refract a prescription. We image the retina.
We carry over a thousand frames, refreshed by hand rather than algorithm. The four global brands that dominate the high-street optician are not on our wall. What is on our wall are smaller designer houses we have known and worked with for years, paired with the lens labs that justify the price.
Sarah Fletcher and Emma Cooling do the styling: shapes, materials and the colour-palette read most opticians do not offer. Eyecare Plan members enjoy a 20% loyalty discount on every spectacle and sunglass purchase.
Victoria Road runs from the Esplanade up to Exmouth railway station, the seaside terminus of the Avocet Line from Exeter. The Exe Estuary meets the sea here, ferries cross to Starcross in summer, and the South West Coast Path turns north along the seafront. McAusland Optometrists has been at number three since 1984: the McAusland family opened the practice, Keval Sejpar joined as principal optometrist in 2014, and the surname stays above the door because forty-two years of Exmouth eye-test memory is bound to it.
In optics since 2006. Qualified at City University London. Cut his teeth in independent practices in London and Oxford before moving to Exmouth in 2014. Council of the Association for Independent Optometrists since 2017; Chair since 2024.
Joined the practice February 2021 after twelve years in an independent in Hertfordshire. Independent Prescribing status earned 2020; Doctorate in Optometry completed July 2021. Special interest in macular health and ocular condition management.
Relocated from Wiltshire in 2024. The frame stylist with the colour-palette eye. Finds the styles and the shades that suit a face, not just the prescription. Cockapoo called Wilbur. Vintage-hunter at the weekends.
Joined the team in 2019, taking over from her mother Gaye who retired after twenty-six years at the practice. Optical Assistant qualification with Distinction in 2020. First year of the Dispensing Optician course completed July 2021. Interior-design and beauty background, sharp eye for style.
Took charge of reception August 2020. Optical Assistant qualification with Distinction August 2021. The familiar face at the desk and the voice on the phone. Wears the most colourful frames in the shop.
Pay-as-you-go alternative: £120 per comprehensive eye examination, no commitment.
Talk to reception for the exact monthly figure for your lens type.
Victoria Road runs from the Esplanade and the seafront up to Exmouth railway station. We are on the right as you head inland from the Strand, opposite the Grapevine. One hour of free parking outside the practice; the Asda multi-storey is three minutes' walk if you need longer. The Avocet Line from Exeter terminates at the station two minutes up the road.
The Plan is the way most patients prefer to manage their eye care, because it bundles the comprehensive 45-minute examination (with OCT and Optomap), emergency access and a 20% loyalty discount on spectacles. From £10 per month standard, £15 per month for contact-lens wearers. Pay-as-you-go is also fine: the same comprehensive eye examination is £120 with the same diagnostics and explanation, no shortcuts. Reception can talk you through whichever route fits.
Refraction, a full check of binocular vision and eye-movement co-ordination, OCT scan of the retinal layers, Optomap ultra-widefield retinal photograph, intra-ocular pressure measurement, anterior-segment examination, and a detailed discussion of the results with whichever optometrist you see. The OCT and Optomap are standard, not extras. The time is deliberate, so you can ask the questions you came in with rather than leaving with them unanswered.
Myopia management is a set of treatments to slow the rate at which a child’s short-sightedness gets worse, rather than just keeping pace with new prescriptions. Keval offers the three evidence-based pathways: MiSight 1-day contact lenses, Orthokeratology (OrthoK) overnight lenses, and low-dose atropine drops. Each pathway suits a different child and family. The conversation starts with a comprehensive eye examination to confirm whether progressive myopia is actually present.
Most dry eye is actually a problem with the meibomian glands in the eyelid margin, not a tear-volume problem. BlephEx is a clinic-floor procedure where we use a small medical-grade spinning sponge with mild cleanser to physically remove the bacterial biofilm and debris along the lid margin: think dental hygienist scaling, for the eyelids. ZEST is a similar procedure using okra-based cleanser. MGX expresses the meibomian glands themselves under heat, freeing the oil that lubricates the tear film. Most patients notice a difference within two weeks.
The 45-minute appointment, the Heidelberg Spectralis OCT (which most chains do not stock at this specification), the in-house BlephEx and MGX dry-eye treatments, the designer-led frame wall, the same five faces every time you come in. Keval chairs the national body that represents UK independent opticians; the practice has been on Victoria Road for forty-two years. The chains can match the prescription. They cannot match the depth.