EDITOR’S COMMENT
On the summer agenda
Whether you are relaxing on the beach, enjoying the action from Paris or at work holding down the fort, there is one important action you need to be thinking about before the summer ends: your entry to the
Optician Awards.
For the past couple of years, the Optician Awards has changed its timings so I want to make sure everyone is aware of when their submissions need to be in.
The closing date for entries this year is August 30 but with the holiday season in full swing it’s all too easy to let the Awards slip off the agenda. Not that they have. Interest from entrants has been brisk and our sponsors have been as keen as mustard too. You can check out the categories and sponsors at opticianawards.co.uk.
As ever, the Awards have evolved and we are committed to bringing back face-to-face judging. After a few years of web, Zoom and Teams judging, Optician has booked a venue in London to enable the judges to meet in person to deliberate and decide on the shortlists.
Alongside categories for all types of practice, product and job roles we have trophies up for grabs in some specialist areas such as social media, enhanced services and sustainability. We have also introduced an Outstanding Achievement Award, which will be awarded to an individual who has gone that extra mile for optics. Most important of all is the presentation party. By popular demand our glittering black-tie bash will be held slightly earlier, November 22, in the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane. This really is the optical night of the year where everybody who is anybody in optics wants to be.
So please enjoy your summer but do two things; go to opticianawards.co.uk and see which categories you want to enter and block out the evening of November 22 for the best optical party you’ll go to this year.
CONTENTS
Editor-in-chief
10 Informed
12 Autumn/winter designs
NEWS 4 7 Days News from the past week 6 In Focus Specscar t targets national expansion
OPINION 8 Viewpoint
School’s out for summer
PRACTICE 10 Informed
Updates from inside the industr y 11 Showcase
The latest product news
LENSES AND DISPENSING 12 Safilo style
Trends include graduated lenses
CLINICAL 14 CPD: Optometric practice 3
The natural home of dr y eye: par t 2 18 CPD: Communication and accessibility in optical practice Communication barriers for patients with learning disabilities or on the autism spectrum
CLASSIFIED 26 Ser vices 29 Recruitment
Editorial enquiries 020 7501 6660 opticianeditor@markallengroup.com Display advertisements 020 7501 6668 Classified advertisements 020 7501 6686 daniel.doherty@markallengroup.com Subscriber enquiries 01722 716997 subscriptions@markallengroup.com opticianonline.net
Optician is the weekly, paid-for information source for optometrists, dispensing opticians and the optical industr y. For 133 years Optician has been the independent voice for eye care professionals, students and business owners offering breaking news, analysis and education. In print and online, Optician provides an array of clinical, business and technology ar ticles, comprehensive CPD coverage along with the ver y latest in contact lenses, frame fashion trends and spectacle lens technology. Optician offers advice on careers and carries hundreds of job oppor tunities ever y week. Optician provides its readers with essential business help and offers a forum for eye care professionals and others in the market.
9 August 2024 OPTICIAN 3
