Optometry
Treating minor eye conditions in optometry practices: is this a viable model for the future?
The role of the optometrist has expanded in recent years as community eye care services have changed. With the limited scope of general ophthalmic services (GOS) regulations in most parts of the UK, the funding to support additional care has...
Leadership and management in optometry: why is it important?
The General Medical Council recognises that leadership and management is essential for every doctor, and provides guidance detailing management and leadership responsibilities [1]. Indeed, management and leadership is part of the core training for all medical trainees. However, to date,...
Glaucoma care provision using a multidisciplinary approach: a personal view
This article is going to explain the secret to running an efficient multidisciplinary glaucoma service which will comfortably meet the demands of an ever-growing elderly population, within the confines of budgetary and clinical constraints, wherever the setting. This may be...
Are we short-sighted about myopia?
Worldwide prevalence of myopia has increased rapidly in recent years and has now reached epidemic levels, particularly in South-East Asia where prevalence is around 80% [1-4]. Myopia prevalence is also increasing in the United States and Europe where it is...
An optometrist’s view of the Emergency Eye Day
Liverpool is steeped in history, from its mercantile history, home to Cunard and the White Star line, to the Merseybeat and Derek Hatton. Not to be outdone at their annual meeting in the city, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists made...
Community Eyecare Services in Northern Ireland: putting the patient at the centre, improving outcomes and maximising system resource
The UK has four healthcare systems; Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales each has autonomous legislature that develops health policy, while the UK government directly runs England’s NHS. Like the other nations, Northern Ireland is continually challenged to meet the needs...
Bridging the gap – Supporting our patients across the primary / secondary care divide
Providing the best care for patients is surely a fundamental goal for all healthcare professionals. When waiting-times are long and getting longer, clinics are full, colleagues are off with stress-related illness and patients are complaining, is it possible to still...
Paediatric spectacle dispensing: more than a frame and lenses
It’s incredibly rewarding to fit a child’s first pair of spectacles and see their face light up; looking around to see the wider world for the first time. Sometimes it is so obvious that even the most reluctant parent will...
The challenges of rural optometry and how independent prescribing has helped
Why move from a busy professional independent Aberdeen optometry practice over 200 miles to one of the most remote places in the United Kingdom? I could talk about the professional challenge of supporting a rural community, or the chance to...
Optometrist found guilty of manslaughter
To start our new Optometry section, editor Janet Pooley takes a look at the tragic death of Vincent Barker and asks what lessons can be learned. In August, Optometrist Honey Rose was found guilty of the manslaughter of eight-year-old Vincent...
