AOP responds to study on GPs under pressure

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has urged the government to address primary care pressures, citing figures that show GPs in deprived areas manage nearly 2,500 patients each.

In comparison, deprived areas cope with almost 300 more patients than in affluent areas and the RCGP has warned of ‘dangerously high workloads.’

Responding to the call, chief executive of the Association of Optometrists (AOP) Adam Sampson said: ‘GPs are at crisis point. Millions of appointments are taken up with eye health complaints that optometrists on the high street are trained to manage.’

Dr Peter Hampson, optometrist and clinical and policy director at the AOP, noted: ‘Optometrists have the capacity to do more. But we need the political vision to ensure primary care optometry is utilised, allowing patients to access more eye care in their community which can help tackle the NHS backlog.’