Cancer kids refused by practices

New figures have revealed that almost half of optical practices approached by parents of children later diagnosed with eye cancer last year refused to see the children.

The data, released by the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust (CHECT), showed that during 2017, 11 practices across the UK were contacted by parents concerned about their child’s eyes, who later went on to be diagnosed with retinoblastoma. Five of the practices refused to make appointments because of the child’s age.

The charity said it understood opticians did not usually see babies and very young children for routine eye examinations, but stated it was important that frontline, non-optical staff were trained to recognise red flag symptoms described by parents.