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Optometrists can and should play a greater role in helping patients manage and identify diabetes, according to Diabetes UK.

Speaking to Optician in the run-up to World Diabetes Day on November 14, Diabetes UK care adviser Zoë Harrison said optometrists should not shy away from discussing lifestyle issues with patients. 'On examining their eyes, optometrists usually recognise if this is someone with diabetes, as rapidly deteriorating eyesight is one symptom of the condition,' she said.

'There is no reason, however, why optometrists can't have a discussion with a patient who they may identify as being at risk of developing diabetes, for example people who are overweight or who have a family history of the condition.'

Given obesity was linked to diabetes, conversations around lifestyle were highly relevant, she said. 'If you have somebody sitting in front of you who has a diagnosis of diabetes, this is a good opportunity to discuss the importance of managing the condition and their general health,' Harrison said.

Optometrist Richard Broughton, a member of the National Screening Committee's project advisory group on diabetic retinopathy screening, agreed: 'I would expect optometrists to be giving their patients with diabetes advice, and I think they would see it as part of their role to spend time explaining the condition and why diabetic control is important,' Broughton said.

Monitoring how often patients were being screened for retinopathy was another important responsibility for optometrists, said Trevor Warburton, chair of the AOP. Retinopathy screening was prioritised under the government's national service framework for diabetes, but the target to have 80 per cent of diabetics offered screening by April this year was not reached. According to Diabetes UK, only 62 per cent of diabetics in England were offered the procedure.

'Practitioners must be checking whether or not their patient is regularly screened. It is their responsibility to ask all diabetic patients if they have been screened in the past year and if the answer is "yes", they need to note that. If the answer is "no", they need to encourage that patient to make an appointment and they need to notify the GP,' Warburton said.

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