If the BCLA’s mission is ‘To promote excellence in research, manufacturing and clinical practice in contact lenses and related areas’, why should it concern itself with regulations on contact lens sales and supply?
The answer is that we have a duty to protect and inform our members, and the public at large, on issues that affect patient safety. The BCLA faces a particular responsibility in relation to deregulation, which is a current feature of the whole medical scene.
In July 2005, the BCLA was among the first to issue guidance on the Section 60 changes to the Opticians Act by sending out a fact sheet to all members explaining the new regulations in detail. Although contact lenses still needed to be fitted by a suitably qualified practitioner, they could now be sold under the ‘general direction’ of a registered practitioner to a valid, in-date specification.
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