AOI highlights need for coordinated approach

Eye care practitioners from all around Ireland converged upon Carlow last week for the annual conference of the Association of Optometrists in Ireland (AOI).

Delegates attended a two-day programme of lectures with key themes being paediatric assessment and the management of eye diseases.

With access to cycloplegic agents only having been introduced in recent years, many delegates felt that there was still a need for a more coordinated approach to paediatric assessment involving optometrists and this was reflected in the lecture programme.

Optician clinical editor Bill Harvey described the key components of a paediatric assessment and suggested that maintaining the cooperation of the child while respecting the best ways to ensure compliance were both key to effective management.