Optician's handbook on glaucoma has now been published and will be ready for distribution shortly.
The Essential Glaucoma Handbook is a guide to assessment and management of glaucoma for all eye care professionals and includes the latest guidelines on management and referral from the National Insitute for Health and Clinical Excellence. The handbook includes a foreword by Professor Stephen Vernon, special professor of ophthalmology at the University of Nottingham.
Based on a recently featured series of articles by Dr Paul Spry and Dr Robert Harper, the handbook is a complete guide for all eye care practitioners including students and allied professionals such as GPs with a special interest.
Authors Dr Spry, an optometrist consultant at Bristol Eye Hospital, and Dr Harper, an optometrist consultant at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, are both experienced authorities in the subject area. Dr Spry was also one of the optometrist representatives on the NICE advisory panel prior to the launch of the recent guidelines to referral and management.
The book features clear guidance on ophthalmoscopy, field assessment and analysis, intraocular pressure measurement and the use of more advanced techniques, such as retinal nerve fibre layer thickness analysis and optical coherence tomography. Later chapters focus upon the various management options available in the UK and give guidance to the clinician about the pathways and options available for treatment and what the treatments are. These chapters will make the book an essential reference for those practitioners aiming to acquire independent prescribing, supplementary prescribing or additional supply status. There is also a clear description of the implications for clinicians of the NICE guidelines.
The book costs £30 plus postage and packaging of £3.95. Anyone interested in purchasing a copy should contact Kay Hevey on 020 8652 8243 or email kay.hevey@rbi.co.uk.