ABDO may have ended its conference weekend as ABDO after voting against a name change, but general secretary Sir Tony Garrett is optimistic about its future and the prospect of refracting DOs. Alison Ewbank reports
2011 was a busy year for the Association of British Dispensing Opticians. Marking its 25th anniversary and 10 years of ABDO College, the first BSc (Hons) graduates in optical dispensing studies and the first honours degrees in ophthalmic dispensing through Canterbury Christ Church University, it was a year for celebrating.
Aside from the ceremonials, ABDO has made progress in representing its members' interests, notably the reduction in retention fees for low income earners. It has also embarked on a review of its Articles of Association, receiving the go-ahead for a radical overhaul at its AGM in Stratford-upon-Avon last month (News 05.10.12).
But a separate move, a change of name to 'The British Association of Opticians', proved less successful and proposals to extend the right to refract to DOs (News 24.02.12) provoked controversy earlier this year.
For general secretary Sir Tony Garrett, rejection of the name change came as no surprise. 'It was a clear result against and our members have spoken with a very clear voice,' he concedes. 'We've fulfilled a promise made last year in Brighton to put the proposal forward and it's been rejected. That's fine. We're now moving on to other things.'
Sir Tony says he was pleased that the vote on new Articles of Association had gone through, giving the ABDO board more flexibility in future to implement change. 'Consistent with other organisations this means we're empowered to bring in changes without always having to go to the membership and to put them to a vote.'
Initiatives such as the twice-yearly presidential consultation days offer opportunities for members to voice their opinions. 'We try to be inclusive and hopefully the board is a good reflection of our membership too. We'd like to feel that we address members' concerns and aspirations.'
That representation also extends to his team. 'When I first joined ABDO we had not a single DO on the staff. Now we have several respected professionals, not just a group of people that members have never heard of. That sets us apart from other professional bodies.'
Sir Tony is aware that his members face economic challenges, but says he is pleasantly surprised by the buoyant mood of the Stratford conference, with 560 delegates attending over the two days. 'Life is difficult in the workplace and we were concerned that would be reflected here but it hasn't been. Talking to members they're in very good spirits.'
Next year will see a change of format for the annual meeting which will move to Optrafair and then continue to be held in spring rather than autumn. 'It's ridiculous having a big event and not doing something there. It's also a better model for our AGM - at present we're reporting accounts almost a year out of date.'
As this year's conference ended, Sir Tony was heading off on a three-week visit to the Far East, Australia and New Zealand to meet with optical organisations and regulators. ABDO has recently been approached by an optometry school in India to work together. Is there likely to be increasing emphasis on overseas interests in future?
'Our international work is slowly building,' says Sir Tony. 'We have a training and qualification system to be proud of and that other countries have bought in to. The revenue generated has a direct benefit for our members, and it's also a good thing for our tutors and examiners.
'We're not trying to develop this at the expense of the UK and it does open up opportunities for members.' He points to Specsavers recruiting dispensing staff for its new stores in New Zealand
One topic not on the agenda at the AGM was extending refracting rights to DOs through the FBDO R qualification. Both the College of Optometrists and the Association of Optometrists have expressed concerns about the proposal (News 09.03.12).
Sir Tony is adamant that this opposition will not deter ABDO from taking the proposal forward. 'The big issue on the table for the board is the refraction issue, which isn't going to go away. We've got to decide how to proceed. Our strategy is currently to get people trained.
'All our students have to have a thorough knowledge of refraction. They're fully trained in the theory but not in practice. It's a bit like saying you can do the theory driving test but you can't do the practical. Those who have the refraction qualification can't practise in the UK but they can abroad.'
He argues that only a minority would take up refraction and concedes that some members may reject the idea. 'It'll be like all the other specialities - it isn't for everyone. Around 1,400 DOs have chosen to be CLOs. I suspect over a similar number of years we may have a similar number wanting to refract.
'Some, but not many, may be opposed. Quite a lot say we don't care but there's quite a significant group who say they want to [refract] in the same way as they fit contact lenses. Frankly, if you're fitting contact lenses you're far less of a risk if you can refract them too.'
So could opposition from optometry be overcome? 'If you talk to optometrists, quite a few of them view refraction as boring. It's not such an issue for them as for the representative bodies, who get terribly exercised about it. What will happen is that the profession will get to the stage where it will become impossible to resist. We don't know how long that will take,' says Sir Tony.
And he has this warning for those against the proposal: 'If optometrists aren't sensible the separation of sight testing and the eye examination could be the outcome, leading to complete deregulation of sight testing, and that's not what we're after.
'Every profession wants to increase its scope of practice. We've supported optometry in increasing its scope and it's unacceptable not to allow DOs to do the same. There will be change.' ?
