College eyes NHS checks

Possible involvement of optometrists in providing NHS Health Checks is being investigated further by the College of Optometrists.

The new checks have reportedly been designed for a variety of settings including optometrists, according to correspondence from the Department of Health (Moneo 13.09.13).

However, optical bodies including the College and Optical Confederation said they had not been made aware of this potential direct role.

The Confederation had only been advised about an ‘Every Contact Counts’ idea whereby optometrists could point people towards having the check, which assesses for conditions including stroke, dementia, heart disease and diabetes.

‘Now we are aware of this, we will investigate further,’ said a College spokesperson.