About

The Scleral Lens Centre

The Scleral Lens Centre, led by Sophie Taylor-West, offers a full range of specialist contact lens services alongside the latest eye-scanning technology to profile and monitor the shape of the eye.

Despite the name, we do far more than fit scleral lenses. While these lenses are increasingly popular among people with complex visual needs due to their exceptional comfort, stability and clarity of vision, we also fit a wide range of other specialist lens types. These include corneal, hybrid, specialist soft, and cosmetic lenses, tailored for a variety of eye conditions and requirements.

Clinical excellence, compassionate persistence.

Interior of a boutique optometry practice with a pink reception desk, decorative chandeliers, seating area with chairs and tables, and two women working at the checkout counter.
A woman with short, light brown hair and glasses, wearing a pink button-up shirt, smiling and leaning against a wooden railing. The woman is Sophie Taylor-West.

About Sophie Taylor-West

The Scleral Lens Centre is led by principal optometrist Sophie Taylor-West. Sophie began fitting specialist contact lenses for people with ocular disease and complex visual disorders in 2007, when she began working at a prestigious London practice off Harley Street. Around this time there was a contact lens ‘renaissance’ driven by advances in manufacturing and a better understanding of the shape of the eye; a plethora of corneo-scleral, scleral and hybrid lens designs appeared on the market.

Sophie was at the forefront during this time and pioneered the fitting of Soclear, Synergeyes, Zenlens and ICD lenses in the UK.  Between 2007 and 2015 Sophie continued working with the latest lens designs in private practice, at Moorfields Eye Hospital and, later, at Sussex Eye Hospital. Sophie has spoken internationally on specialty contact lens fitting, and has published numerous articles on the subject. In 2015 she opened her own private practice in Brighton & Hove. 

The Scleral Lens Centre offers the full range of contact lens services and the latest eye scanning technology to profile and monitor the shape of the eye. This, coupled with Sophie’s clinical experience, compassion and persistence allow the Scleral Lens Centre to provide an industry-leading visual rehabilitation service.

Experts in all specialist contact lens types

What we offer:

Optometrist performing eye examination on an elderly man using a slit lamp.

  • “Sophie is a brilliant optometrist and really knows her stuff about fitting contact lenses for complex corneas (post refractive surgery RK in my case). I have recently been fitted with Eyeprint contact lenses. For anyone with eye problems be it post-lasik or anything else I cannot recommend Sophie highly enough. I spend 2.5 hours in the car each way to see her as I have not been able to find the expertise or service anywhere else. It’s so worth it.”

    -D.S.

  • “I have keratoconus and am very short sighted. When my optician retired, I needed a specialist who could handle my complex needs. I found Sophie and she didn't disappoint! Last year, I changed over to scleral lens on Sophie's advice - they are amazing, so comfortable, and vision is very sharp.”

    -G.R.

  • “I was diagnosed with keratoconus back in 2008, and sadly lost my pilot’s licence due to quick progression of the KC in 2014. I thought my flying days were over and slowly came to terms with the fact that I would never fly again. I decided to go and visit Sophie to see if she could help. We tried many lenses, and after a couple of months Sophie finally found the solution. AMAZING!!! I passed the Class 1 aviation medical required to get back flying in 2015. Without Sophie, my life would have severely changed. Not only professionally but in my everyday life. I would highly recommend Sophie to anyone who needs eye care and specialist lens fitting.”

    -D.C.

  • “I have been with Sophie since before she opened in Hove and have enormous trust in her ability to look after my (somewhat wonky) eyes that need special contact lenses. Her team are unfailingly helpful and pleasant and her range of frames makes her practice special - they’re stylish and different. I cannot recommend the practice and Sophie enough.”

    -S.D.

  • “Sophie and the team always provide a fantastic, professional service. As someone with a particularly 'awkward' keratoconus prescription, I'd all but given up hope of getting a decent level of vision back, but Sophie worked a miracle! Would recommend to anyone.”

    -K.C.

  • “The Eyeprint Pro lenses are fantastic - from the imprinting process which felt very relaxing thanks to Sophie’s empathetic and gentle application to the final bespoke lens itself. These are the best lenses in terms of comfort and visual acuity with the simplest care regime of any hard lens I have tried. And I have tried them all over the years. If you want excellent vision from lenses you can wear all day long without noticing, try these. The fact that they have negated the need for eye surgery for my grumpy lens-intolerant corneas is the icing on the cake. Try them and you won’t look back.”

    -S.H.

Services

Close-up of a hand holding Eyeprint molding compound.

EyePrint Pro

Find out more

Close-up of a young man having an eye exam with an Eaglet Scleral Profiler.

Scleral Profilometry Guided Fitting

Find out more

An Ovitz X-Wave Aberrometer, used for measuring the higher order aberrations of a visual system, positioned on a white table in a clinical setting.

Higher Order Aberration (HOA) Correction with Ovitz

Find out more

A close-up of a hybrid contact lens resting on a hand.

Hybrid Contact Lenses

Find out more

Close-up of a human eye with blue iris, long eyelashes, and detailed skin texture around the eye.

Cosmetic Lenses

Find out more

A close-up of a person holding an RGP contact lens.

Corneal RGP and Soft Lenses

Find out more

Optical Services and Glasses Dispensing

An elderly man with a beard smiling while having his eyes tested at an optometrists.

Optometric Services 

The Scleral Lens Centre is located within Taylor-West & Co Optometrists. This practice offers complete optometric services, including comprehensive eye examinations including all ocular health checks and prescriptions measurements. TW&Co also has state-of-the-art equipment for imaging your central and peripheral retina, leading to early detection of conditions such as glaucoma and macular disease.

Contact Taylor-West & Co Optometrists

Child at an eye doctor's appointment wearing trial frames for eye testing.

Optical Needs For Children

TW&Co also offers myopia management services for children and teenagers with myopia (short-sightedness) with specialist equipment to measure axial length, vital to monitor eye growth linked to myopic progression. Specialist contact lenses and glasses can be prescribed to slow down the progression of myopic changes. We also offer colorimetry and visual stress assessments and treatment for children and teenagers.

Contact Taylor-West & Co Optometrists

Two women shopping for glasses in an optometry store, one helping the other try on glasses.

Spectacle Dispensing 

Within the practice we have a bright and welcoming spectacle dispensing suite, where our expert Dispensing Opticians can help you find the perfect pair of glasses from our huge selection of handmade eyewear. Brands we stock include Mykita, Anne et Valentin, Ahlem, Theo and Orgreen. We particularly specialise in dispensing high prescriptions and astigmatism.

Contact Taylor-West & Co Optometrists

Partners and Accreditations