Final consideration of a voluntary code combating illegal practice aimed at online contact lens retailers has been delayed, the General Optical Council confirmed at a Council meeting this month.
Approved by the GOC last year, the strategy covers all types of illegal practice prohibited by the Opticians Act 1989, from misrepresentation of title to online contact lens sales that do not comply with UK law.
GOC chair Gareth Hadley said several issues were raised by responses to the consultation and that further analysis would need to be carried out. He added he was heartened by the responses, which demonstrated the value of consultation.
The Council revealed that 74 consultation responses had been received from a variety of stakeholders. Forty-one OOs responded, along with eight dispensing opticians and eight contact lens opticians. Just two contact lens manufacturers made their feelings known: Daysoft, which also operates in the online retail sector, and one other, which was unidentified.
GOC policy manager Marie Bunby said: ‘The majority of respondents were supportive of the principle of a code of practice, although many of these doubted the impact that it would have on protection of the public.
‘While most respondents felt the code was the right course of action to take in the absence of being able to change the law or apply it in relation to suppliers from other countries, many were concerned that the code might lead to more patients buying contact lenses online because of the publicity linked to it.’ she added.
The council agreed that it was a complex issue, and agreed to the amended timeline for delivery of the strategy, with approval slated for February 2016.