Mixed messages

View PDF 

Total practice turnover has improved by 7 per cent on January figures to 169 Index points but is 3 per cent lower than February last year. In October last year we reported a reduction to 167 Index points after an eight-month period within a tight band between 169 and 172 Index points and suggested then that this might set a downward trend. Turnover per eye examination is up by £1.59 to £153.90 from January, £12.03 higher than February 2011.

Figure 1 shows the total number of eye examinations from February 2011 set against the sample average total number of spectacles dispensed over the same period. Total eye examinations increased this month by 2 per cent on January to 112 Index points but this is 3 per cent lower than February last year. For the last three years, from 2009, we have seen the total number of eye examinations peak in February. Annual growth for this indicator is less than 1 per cent and the moving average (which takes into account historic values over 12 months, and includes the current month) is flat. In the second half of 2011 the Index value for the sample average total spectacles dispensed increased at a faster rate than the total number of eye examinations and peaked in November at 107 Index points, but the moving average has levelled off over the last three months. This indicator increased by 1 per cent from January to 96 Index points and is 5 per cent higher than February last year. This improvement is also reflected in the average dispensing rate which now stands at 65 per cent, a 5 per cent increase on February last year.