- OT
- Industry
- High Street
- Arming the workforce
Arming the workforce
Specsavers ensures almost 2000 optometrists gain further accreditation in glaucoma
15 March 2017
Over 1900 optometrists at Specsavers stores across England and Ireland have completed the LOCSU/WOPEC Level 1 glaucoma accreditation, the multiple announced during World Glaucoma Week (12–18 March).
In February, Specsavers pledged that at least one optometrist in each of its practices would complete the accreditation by World Glaucoma Week, explaining that it wanted to “ensure that its employees are trained to best detect and diagnose the sight-threatening condition.”
It also aims to have this number of optometrists trained to the Level 2 glaucoma accreditation by this September.
In order to support its employees to reach this standard, Specsavers has produced a range of online support materials and is running regular refresher workshops around the country. These workshops are designed to enable its optometrists to practise their key skills in, for example, Goldmann applanation tonometry, Van Herick technique and indirect ophthalmoscopy using Volk lenses.
Specsavers practices in the UK are also hosting, on average, 10 WOPEC glaucoma Level 2 OSCE events per month in order to ensure its optometrists are able to complete the assessment at a time and place that is convenient to them.
The initiative builds on a similar drive by the multiple last year, which saw more than 2200 Specsavers optometrists gain Level 2 accreditation in minor eye conditions.
Further supporting its glaucoma drive, Specsavers recently joined forces with the International Glaucoma Association (IGA) in a health information campaign to raise awareness of the condition.
Co-founder and joint CEO of Specsavers, Doug Perkins, said: “Our partnerships with Royal National Institute of Blind People, and now with the IGA, are about transforming eye health – educating the public on the importance of eye examinations and what optometrists are capable of in helping to diagnose and manage sight-threatening conditions. Equally important, therefore, is to ensure that as many optometrists as possible are fully confident and competent to deliver the range of enhanced services that patients, wherever they live, will gradually come to expect from their High Street optician.”
Comments (0)
You must be logged in to join the discussion. Log in