Contact lens buyer beware

Six months after the law on contact lens supply was changed, the Optician team undertook a major mystery shopper exercise to test how the new regulations were working in practice. Emma White, Rob Moss, David Challinor, Rory Brogan, Alison Ewbank, Chris Bennett and Bill Harvey recount their experiences

New legislation that took effect from June 30 last year marked the biggest change in the UK contact lens market in recent times, when changes to Section 60 of the Opticians Act effectively deregulated contact lens sales.

The legislation required practitioners to provide patients with contact lens specifications once fitting was completed, opening the way to supermarket and pharmacy sales.

On June 30, 2005, Tesco became the first national retailer to offer contact lenses through its instore pharmacies, online and by phone via a dedicated call centre. Asda followed in August with its own online contact lens offer and last month Sainsbury's announced that it too was to sell contact lenses.

Under the new legislation, contact lenses can only be fitted by a registered optometrist, contact lens optician or medical practitioner, as before. Lenses may then be sold either by a registered practitioner or under the 'general direction' of a registered practitioner.

The principal requirement for contact lens sales is that the seller must have an in-date specification before supplying lenses or must verify the specification with the prescriber. Contact lenses for use by children under the age of 16 must be sold by a registered practitioner or under his or her supervision. A further change is that plano cosmetic contact lenses are now regulated in the same way as powered lenses.

'General direction' is taken to mean that, unlike a supervised sale, the physical presence of a qualified practitioner is not required. However, this term is yet to be established in case law. The legislation also states that the seller must make arrangements for the individual to receive aftercare, although again what these arrangements should entail remains unclear.

All businesses in the UK supplying contact lenses must comply with the new regulations. Sales occurring outside the UK, including internet sales, cannot be regulated under this legislation.