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EDITORIAL 020 7501 6745 Editor-in-chief Chris Bennett 020 7501 6660 chris.bennett@markallengroup.com Editor Simon Jones 020 7501 6667 simon.jones@markallengroup.com Deputy editor Mike Hale 020 7501 6670 mike.hale@markallengroup.com Clinical editor (Optometr y) Dr Manbir Nagra manbir.nagra@markallengroup.com Clinical editor (Dispensing) Tina Arbon Black tina.arbonblack@markallengroup.com Content editor Andrew McCarthy-McClean 020 7501 6788 andrew.mcclean@markallengroup.com Acting online editor Emma White 020 7501 6663 emma.white@markallengroup.com Production editor Gar y O’Connell 020 7501 6706 gar y.oconnell@markallengroup.com Ar t editor Sara Challinor 020 7501 6666 sara.challinor@markallengroup.com ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP Associate publisher Darren Ward 020 7501 6668 darren.ward@markallengroup.com Key account manager Joseph Lever 020 7501 6708 joseph.lever@markallengroup.com RECRUITMENT & CLASSIFIED Recruitment solutions manager Daniel Doherty 020 7501 6686 daniel.doherty@markallengroup.com Managing director Anthony Kerr 020 7501 6726 anthony.kerr@markallengroup.com Group production manager Kyri Apostolou 020 7501 6779 kyri.apostolou@markallengroup.com Production director Richard Hamshere Chief executive officer Ben Allen Chairman Mark Allen EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Will Ayliffe PhD FRCS FRCOphth DO; Sally Bates FBDO; Dr Frank Eperjesi PhD BSc MCOptom FAAO; Professor Bernard Gilmartin PhD FCOptom FAAO; Graham Hutchison MBA; Professor Mo Jalie SMSA FBDO FCGI MIMgt; Dr Lyndon Jones PhD FCOptom DCLP DOrth FAAO; Geoff Roberson BSc FCOptom; Dr Steve Taylor PhD MSc FCOptom; Graeme Young MPhil FCOptom DCLP FAAO SUBSCRIPTIONS 0800 137201 Subscribe or renew 01722 716997 subscriptions@markallengroup.com BACK ISSUES 01722 716997 REPRINTS 020 7501 6790 ISSN 0030.3968 Par t of www.markallengroup.com Optician is published ever y Friday © 2024 MA Healthcare Ltd St Judes Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB. Telephone 020 7738 5454 Website: www.opticianonline.net ISSN 0030.3968 Printed in Britain by Pensord Press, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Gwent, NP12 2YA Please read our privacy policy at privacypolicy.markallengroup.com. This will explain how we process, use and safeguard your data facebook.com/opticianonline 7 DAYS To read the full stories and keep up to date on the latest news and views visit opticianonline.net Emma James OutsideClinic supports Afghan nationals OutsideClinic provided critical eye care services to Afghan nationals, who arrived in the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme, at the Larkhall Garrison Medical Centre. The initiative, organised by the NHS and Ministry of Defence, was part of multi-agency efforts to support over 200 individuals and their families who stood alongside UK forces in Afghanistan. Optometrist Kajal Parmar and optical development lead Emma James and the rest of their team helped provide eye care for seven patients, including one child, two young adults and four adults. ‘The day was fantastic, it was great to be able to see patients that we don’t typically see at OutsideClinic and to be able to help people as they start their UK journey,’ said James. GOC suspends Glenrothes optometrist Glenrothes-based optometrist Kirsty Watson has been suspended for three months by the GOC after her fitness to practise was impaired by reason of misconduct. In October 2019, Watson failed to perform a dilated eye examination on a patient, detect signs of choroidal melanoma, identify the patient’s choroidal naevus and refer her for urgent investigation. She also failed to maintain an adequate standard of record keeping or to urgently refer the same patient to the hospital eye service after a second examination in November 2020. The committee determined that the collective failings of the registrant placed a patient at risk of significant harm, amounting to misconduct and impairment on public interest grounds. OFNC discusses eye care with minister Dame Andrea Leadsom MP, minister for public health, start for life and primary care, met with the Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) to discuss eye care. The Conservative MP said: ‘I was delighted to meet with the OFNC to discuss the essential role played by NHS sight testing in the prevention of avoidable sight loss, the current challenges facing eye care services and how an expanded role for the primary eye care workforce could help alleviate ophthalmology pressures.’ Among the issues raised were: the need for sustainable funding for general ophthalmic services (GOS), the need for integrated IT connectivity across eye care in England, and the potential benefits of a new national Mecs/Cues LET TERS Pick of the posts Proposal presumptions Upon reading the delight of our various representative bodies regarding an enhanced NHS role for optometrists following the potential election of a Labour government later this year (In Focus, Optician 02/02/2024), one may say ‘be careful what you wish for’. Those of us who are more experienced and with longer memories will recall the last time a wouldbe Labour Prime Minister offered the profession a seemingly better deal than the GOS contract under the then ruling Conser vative government. In 1996/97 Ian Hunter, the General Secretar y (CEO) of the AOP (Association of Optical Practitioners now Association of Optometrists), had agreed with Tony Blair (if Mr Blair were to win the 1997 general election) to restore the universal, free at point of access, GOS sight test to all with appropriate fee uplift and an element of enhanced ser vice. When Tony Blair became Prime Minister, his health minister re-introduced GOS sight tests for all aged 60 plus, while retaining those categories of patients already entitled to the GOS sight test, but without any fee uplift or additional ser vice enhancement. This significantly reduced practice income from the higher private sight test fees that were being charged to the 60 years plus group under the previous government. There was a feeling of disappointment and betrayal. Spectacle prices had to be increased to cover the shor tfall. Our representative bodies should tread ver y carefully and perhaps not be presumptuous in celebrating what is just a proposal. Jim Osborne Evesham 4 OPTICIAN 16 Februar y 2024 opticianonline.net
page 5
Follow us on X @opticianonline NEWS IN BRIEF Independent prescribers share expertise at meeting Dr Keyur Patel, clinical director at Tompkins, Knight & Son Optometrists in Nor thampton, organised an event in London on Februar y 3 for 100 independent prescribers to discuss treatment pathways for a variety of conditions. Patel said: ‘I wanted to create a platform that brings independent prescribers together so we can all benefit from each other’s experience, share ideas and ensure we are all acting in a joined-up way that ensures the best treatment for our patients. ‘The emphasis was on learning but in a relaxed and welcoming environment. It was informal but educational and the feedback has been really encouraging.’ Alan Hawrami, a specialist optometrist who works in community ophthalmology clinics, led the morning session on conditions including uveitis, allergy and herpetic eye disease. Irinder Khakha, an ophthalmic director at Specsavers, led the afternoon session on glaucoma, while Patel created peer review content for the event. The event, at the Millennium Gloucester hotel, was compered by Gajan Singh, director of education at Out of the Box Optics, while Elion Hyseni, founder and managing director of Clinical Eye Ser vice, provided exper tise and answered questions. CPD was suppor ted by Stuar t Wellings at Eyecare Education. Dame Andrea Leadson MP specification. Paul Carroll, OFNC chair said: ‘We welcome the new minister’s willingness to discuss how primary eye care could take a more prominent role in helping the NHS to reduce waiting times and save direct and indirect costs for patients and the NHS. ‘The minister is aware that the cornerstone of eye care is sight testing and the invaluable contribution GOS delivers, including identifying patients with eye disease. ‘We stressed that there is an urgent need to increase GOS fees to close the widening gap between NHS sight test fees and inflation. We look forward to further discussions with the minister to address these pressing issues.’ Tree bark to help prevent contact lens infections A naturally-occurring compound found in trees could provide an effective disinfecting solution for contact lenses to combat keratitis infections, according to a peerreviewed study published in Antibiotics. Hydroquinine, found in the bark of some trees, was found to protect against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and several other clinically important germs, including Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The researchers, from the University of Portsmouth and Naresuan and Pibulsongkram Rajabhat universities in Thailand, explored the potential use of multipurpose formulas containing hydroquinine as a disinfectant for contact lenses. Dr Robert Baldock from the school of pharmacy and biomedical sciences at the University of Portsmouth, said: ‘We hoped to demonstrate that new agents made from natural products may be an excellent option to limit or reduce the risk of contact lens contamination. It is exciting to see how this research has progressed; from discovery to exploring potential applications.’ When comparing the antibacterial, anti-adhesion and anti-biofilm properties of hydroquinine-formulated multi-purpose solutions to two commercial alternatives, they found the natural compound killed 99.9% of bacteria. The findings may aid the development of disinfectants to combat ABDO VIEW FROM I have written before about spectacle frame fitting and asked if all dispensing should be super vised by a qualified dispensing optician? So, what about the spectacle lens selection? Standards must rise and practices need to start upping their game. One of our industr y’s quirks is our progressive power lens (PPL) non-tolerant policies. Can you imagine an industr y where there is no second-hand market to speak of, where all products are bespoke but you go back to the retailer in three weeks with a vague discontentment and they will refund your money? You can’t resell the frame as new. I imagine the frame is disposed of and lenses returned to the supplier as a non-tol and they provide credit towards another pair for another customer? This model cannot be expected to continue. Refractions need to be robust with particular emphasis on the subjective refinement. This is the point at which you are finalising the prescription that the patient will wear. Managing expectations of PPL performance and giving explanations that ‘whatever we dispense today will feel different to what you had five years ago and may take some adaption’. Nobody should be supplying a lens they were supplying five years ago; the industr y has moved on and newer products better ser ve our patients, we just need to be able to marr y our patient requirements to current products. To differentiate ourselves in the current market can be done with excellent ser vice, and part of that ser vice needs to be current product knowledge and comprehension. Dar yl Newsome president ABDO ➔ opticianonline.net 16 Februar y 2024 OPTICIAN 5

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EDITORIAL 020 7501 6745 Editor-in-chief Chris Bennett 020 7501 6660 chris.bennett@markallengroup.com Editor Simon Jones 020 7501 6667 simon.jones@markallengroup.com Deputy editor Mike Hale 020 7501 6670 mike.hale@markallengroup.com Clinical editor (Optometr y) Dr Manbir Nagra manbir.nagra@markallengroup.com Clinical editor (Dispensing) Tina Arbon Black tina.arbonblack@markallengroup.com Content editor Andrew McCarthy-McClean 020 7501 6788 andrew.mcclean@markallengroup.com Acting online editor Emma White 020 7501 6663 emma.white@markallengroup.com Production editor Gar y O’Connell 020 7501 6706 gar y.oconnell@markallengroup.com Ar t editor Sara Challinor 020 7501 6666 sara.challinor@markallengroup.com ADVERTISING & SPONSORSHIP Associate publisher Darren Ward 020 7501 6668 darren.ward@markallengroup.com Key account manager Joseph Lever 020 7501 6708 joseph.lever@markallengroup.com RECRUITMENT & CLASSIFIED Recruitment solutions manager Daniel Doherty 020 7501 6686 daniel.doherty@markallengroup.com Managing director Anthony Kerr 020 7501 6726 anthony.kerr@markallengroup.com Group production manager Kyri Apostolou 020 7501 6779 kyri.apostolou@markallengroup.com Production director Richard Hamshere Chief executive officer Ben Allen Chairman Mark Allen EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Will Ayliffe PhD FRCS FRCOphth DO; Sally Bates FBDO; Dr Frank Eperjesi PhD BSc MCOptom FAAO; Professor Bernard Gilmartin PhD FCOptom FAAO; Graham Hutchison MBA; Professor Mo Jalie SMSA FBDO FCGI MIMgt; Dr Lyndon Jones PhD FCOptom DCLP DOrth FAAO; Geoff Roberson BSc FCOptom; Dr Steve Taylor PhD MSc FCOptom; Graeme Young MPhil FCOptom DCLP FAAO SUBSCRIPTIONS 0800 137201 Subscribe or renew 01722 716997 subscriptions@markallengroup.com BACK ISSUES 01722 716997 REPRINTS 020 7501 6790 ISSN 0030.3968

Par t of www.markallengroup.com

Optician is published ever y Friday © 2024 MA Healthcare Ltd St Judes Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB. Telephone 020 7738 5454 Website: www.opticianonline.net ISSN 0030.3968 Printed in Britain by Pensord Press, Tram Road, Pontllanfraith, Gwent, NP12 2YA Please read our privacy policy at privacypolicy.markallengroup.com. This will explain how we process, use and safeguard your data facebook.com/opticianonline

7 DAYS

To read the full stories and keep up to date on the latest news and views visit opticianonline.net

Emma James

OutsideClinic supports Afghan nationals

OutsideClinic provided critical eye care services to Afghan nationals, who arrived in the UK under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme, at the Larkhall Garrison Medical Centre.

The initiative, organised by the NHS and Ministry of Defence, was part of multi-agency efforts to support over 200 individuals and their families who stood alongside UK forces in Afghanistan.

Optometrist Kajal Parmar and optical development lead Emma James and the rest of their team helped provide eye care for seven patients, including one child, two young adults and four adults.

‘The day was fantastic, it was great to be able to see patients that we don’t typically see at OutsideClinic and to be able to help people as they start their UK journey,’ said James.

GOC suspends Glenrothes optometrist Glenrothes-based optometrist Kirsty Watson has been suspended for three months by the GOC after her fitness to practise was impaired by reason of misconduct.

In October 2019, Watson failed to perform a dilated eye examination on a patient, detect signs of choroidal melanoma, identify the patient’s choroidal naevus and refer her for urgent investigation.

She also failed to maintain an adequate standard of record keeping or to urgently refer the same patient to the hospital eye service after a second examination in November 2020.

The committee determined that the collective failings of the registrant placed a patient at risk of significant harm, amounting to misconduct and impairment on public interest grounds.

OFNC discusses eye care with minister Dame Andrea Leadsom MP, minister for public health, start for life and primary care, met with the Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) to discuss eye care.

The Conservative MP said: ‘I was delighted to meet with the OFNC to discuss the essential role played by NHS sight testing in the prevention of avoidable sight loss, the current challenges facing eye care services and how an expanded role for the primary eye care workforce could help alleviate ophthalmology pressures.’

Among the issues raised were: the need for sustainable funding for general ophthalmic services (GOS), the need for integrated IT connectivity across eye care in England, and the potential benefits of a new national Mecs/Cues

LET TERS Pick of the posts Proposal presumptions Upon reading the delight of our various representative bodies regarding an enhanced NHS role for optometrists following the potential election of a Labour government later this year (In Focus, Optician 02/02/2024), one may say ‘be careful what you wish for’.

Those of us who are more experienced and with longer memories will recall the last time a wouldbe Labour Prime Minister offered the profession a seemingly better deal than the GOS contract under the then ruling Conser vative government.

In 1996/97 Ian Hunter, the General Secretar y (CEO) of the AOP (Association of Optical Practitioners now Association of Optometrists), had agreed with Tony Blair (if Mr Blair were to win the 1997 general election) to restore the universal, free at point of access, GOS sight test to all with appropriate fee uplift and an element of enhanced ser vice.

When Tony Blair became Prime Minister, his health minister re-introduced GOS sight tests for all aged 60 plus, while retaining those categories of patients already entitled to the GOS sight test, but without any fee uplift or additional ser vice enhancement.

This significantly reduced practice income from the higher private sight test fees that were being charged to the 60 years plus group under the previous government.

There was a feeling of disappointment and betrayal. Spectacle prices had to be increased to cover the shor tfall.

Our representative bodies should tread ver y carefully and perhaps not be presumptuous in celebrating what is just a proposal. Jim Osborne Evesham

4 OPTICIAN 16 Februar y 2024

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