Health indicator needs vital awareness boost

Optical Confederation chairman Don Grocott has stressed the importance of the eye health indicator and the future provision of domiciliary eye care.

He said the indicator, confirmed as part of the Public Health Outcomes Framework (News 27.01.12), was an opportunity for optics to directly improve ophthalmic public health and wanted the profession to fully understand how it worked.

‘We are trying to get everyone in the sector involved in the eye health indicator,’ said Grocott. ‘We know it is incredibly important, but it is likely a large tranche of opticians do not know how vital it is.’

LOCSU has been helping co-ordinate the collection of data for the new indicator, which will monitor levels of glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.