Honey Rose, pictured, was charged with manslaughter following the death of Vincent Barker, 8, who visited a Boots in Ipswich, Suffolk in 2012

A high street optician is facing trial accused of manslaughter by gross negligence after a young patient died following a routine check-up.

Honey Rose, 34, was charged with the offence after eight-year-old Vincent Barker suffered a fatal build-up of fluid on the brain.

The case, the first of its kind involving an optometrist, is understood to hinge on whether Rose should have identified the problem.

The locum was working a shift at a Boots store in Ipswich, Suffolk, when Vincent came in for an appointment.

It is believed the Crown Prosecution Service will claim she should have spotted he had papilledema, a swelling of the optic nerve due to increased pressure in the skull which can be picked up by the internal examination of the eye that is a feature of every sight test.

Rose, of Newham, east London, appeared at South East Suffolk Magistrates Court in Ipswich on Tuesday where she was formally charged.

During the five-minute hearing she spoke only to confirm her name, address and date of birth.

No plea was entered and Chairman of the Bench David Broughton committed the case to the town’s crown court.

A provisional window was set for a trial between January 25 and March 4 next year and Rose was freed on unconditional bail.

The maximum jail term for manslaughter by gross negligence is life. The offence is aggravated by circumstances including prolonged and deliberately dangerous course of conduct and an awareness of a significant risk of death or serious injury.

Vincent, a talented footballer who played for the under-8 team at Whitton United, was examined by Rose on February 15, 2012.

He fell ill at Dale Hall Primary School in Ipswich on July 13 that year and died at home in the town later that day.

His mother Joanna, 36, who lives with husband Ian in a detached house, declined to comment when approached yesterday.

Shortly after his death, the Reverend Andrew Dotchin, then rector of Whitton with Thurleston and Akenham, said: ‘There have been lots of tears shed, immense sadness and great shock.

‘This has reverberated throughout the community. Everyone has been touched by how terribly tragic it is.

‘Parents have been hugging their children close and sending their thoughts and prayers to Vincent’s family at this awful time.’

South Suffolk Magistrates Court, pictured, sent the case forward to trial at Ipswich Crown Court

Rose, who first registered as an optometrist in 2007, is currently listed as suspended by the General Optical Council.

Optometrists are licensed to perform eye exams and vision tests, prescribe and dispense corrective lenses, detect certain eye abnormalities and prescribe medications for some eye diseases.

They are not opthalmologists, doctors with at least eight years of medical training after college who can practise medicine and surgery.

The Association of Optometrists described the case as unprecedented.