15 July 2022
Close to nine in 10 optometrists who responded to an AOP survey on the Opticians Act highlighted that it was not possible to safely separate the refractive and eye health elements of the sight test.
When asked about separation, 87% of the 2445 respondents said this measure was unsafe, while 64% indicated serious concerns around delegating elements of the sight test to other eye care professionals.
One in 20 respondents said that delegation was safe, while around one in three (29%) shared that delegation could be safe only under strict guidelines.
The survey was conducted in order to provide statistical data on key components of the Opticians Act following the General Optical Council’s call for evidence.
The research will inform the AOP’s response to the call for evidence, ahead of the final submission deadline on 18 July.
As well as separation of the sight test and delegation, the AOP survey covered the requirement to verify a contact lens prescription from the original prescriber and the requirement to have a prescription less than two years old for contact lens fitting.
AOP chief executive, Adam Sampson, shared his gratitude for the members who took part in the survey.
“This group is a significant percentage of the GOC’s registrants, and as such it is vital that their views must be listened to carefully by the regulator,” he said.
Submissions to the consultation can be made directly to the GOC via its online form.
The GOC call for evidence was discussed at the latest AOP Council meeting in June.
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