AOP responds to Dr Ellie Cannon's article 'Answers to non-covid health questions' published in the Mail on Sunday

Dear Editor

We are writing in response to Dr Ellie Cannon's article published in the Mail on Sunday on 10/10/2020. We feel the response to the question 'The vision in my right eye is blurry. What can be wrong?'  that states 'If your vision becomes suddenly blurry, seek urgent help, from either A&E or your local eye casualty clinic – found on the NHS website – or call 111. Do not do what many patients do and ask your optician' is inaccurate and misleading.

We recommend that in the case of blurry eyes, or any vision or eye health concern, that the patient contacts their optometrist immediately rather than their A&E or 111. Optometrists are highly skilled professionals who have had extensive training in eye health for at least four years, far more than most GPs will receive during their medical degrees. They will thoroughly examine the patients' eyes, test their vision as well as the health of their eyes and determine the causes blurry vision. If necessary, they will refer the patient to a further eye specialist. 

For further information about eye health, please refer to our patient section www.aop.org.uk/patients. We would be delighted to advise and support the Mail on Sunday with any eye health related questions in the future.

Yours sincerely

The Association of Optometrists

For media enquiries, please contact Vicky Vine, Communications Director at the Association of Optometrists, [email protected] or telephone 020 7549 2046.


Association of Optometrists

The Association of Optometrists (AOP) is the leading representative membership organisation for optometrists in the UK. We support over 82% of practising optometrists, to fulfil their professional roles to protect the nation’s eye health. For more information, visit www.aop.org.uk