January
January began on a positive note with the launch of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care’s Acuvue recycling scheme. The optics of plastic waste had become particularly bad in recent years and the world of contact lenses suddenly found itself with a problem – taken on by practices, Johnson & Johnson and specialist recycling firm Terracycle.
Elsewhere, a woman in Scotland developed an infection after she was given erectile dysfunction cream for dry eye, and Jeremy Corbyn was also given a hard time in the press over his ‘designer’ glasses.
Jeremy Corbyn (Rex Features)
February
Mixed messages on screen time were highlighted in the early part of February. The first ever guidance on children’s screen time in the UK, published by Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health made close associations between excessive screen time and poor health, namely obesity, depressive states and poor diet, but made no mention of eye health.
Optometry recruitment hit the news, as research for job site Indeed found vacancies for optometrists were the hardest in the UK to fill, with more than two thirds of postings remaining vacant for at least 60 days, and a rift emerged between the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (ABDO) and the GOC. ABDO reacted furiously to proposed revision to GOC education standard levels which would have seen dispensing opticians moved from level 6 to 5.
March
Optician attended a week-long fitness to practise hearing brought against Boots Opticians Professional Services at the GOC in December 2018, but it was nearly three months later before a sanction was handed down. The case saw the multiple hit with a maximum £50,000 fine for what the GOC ruled were failings to identify an employee’s concerns as whistleblowing. Boots Opticians has now paid GOC fines totalling £120,000 over the past decade.
A merger between Essilor and Luxottica had been going smoothly until high level disagreements over the future of the company were made public. Luxottica’s charismatic founder Leonardo del Vecchio accused EssilorLuxottica executive vice chairman Hubert Sagnieres of only listening to himself and making a power grab within the new optical behemoth. Sagnieres calmly dismissed the claims, but tensions increased before they got better.
All smiles: Hubert Sagnieres (l) and Leonardo del Vecchio (r)
April
The arrival of M&S Opticians in 2018 was greeted with more than a few raised eyebrows. At a time when the retailer was looking to simplify its offering and close stores, an optician concession made little sense. That did not stop news of the closure of the six branches coming as something of a shock, especially as a branch in London Colney had opened two weeks previously.
Providing the backend infrastructure to the concessions was Galaxy Optical, which said a national rollout was no longer viable. Staff were told about the closures on the day of the announcement and many customers faced uncertainty over orders.
Another messy story revealed in April was the attitude British adults adopted to eye donation. Nearly half of all adults surveyed said the eyes were the body part least likely to be donated upon death, despite corneal transplants having the ability to transform lives.
May
The atmosphere at EssilorLuxottica had only marginally improved by May, and it took an external intervention to get things back on track. A group of institutional minority investors that included Legal & General, Fidelity International and Baillie Gifford, joined forces and called for independent directors to be appointed, warning that prolonged governance deadlock would undoubtedly weaken the company.
Closer to home, changes to GOS services in Scotland were reported by Optometry Scotland to have saved the NHS £71m in 2017. New regulations saw the use of community-based optometry resources to relieve the pressure put in GPs, A&E, pharmacy and hospital eye clinics. This resulted in savings of millions. Chair of Optometry Scotland, Samantha Watson said: ‘The GOS Works report is proof positive that empowering optometrists to take on more responsibility in the management of all eye conditions has not only been widely beneficial but has also realised significant vital savings. Now more than 80% are managed by optometrists.’
June
Geordie Shore star Marnie Simpson was given a dose of reality by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in June over social media posts for cosmetic zero-powered contact lenses. A website owned by Simpson, ispyeyes.com, sold eyelash extensions and contact lenses, but it was Simpson’s social media posts promoting the lenses that caught the eye of a member of the public. The complainant explained to the ASA that zero-powered contact lenses could only be supplied under the supervision of a registered optometrist, dispensing optician or medical practitioner. It was alleged the ads were misleading as they implied the products could be legally sold in the UK.
Marnie Simpson
July
If you thought politics in the UK’s optical profession was tempestuous, spare a thought for practitioners in Morocco, where ophthalmologists and opticians clashed over a proposed law change that would see opticians prevented from conducting eye exams.
Opticians in Morocco were able to perform vision tests and dispense glasses, but ophthalmologists said this constituted a conflict of interest and claimed refraction is a medical issue that should be dealt with by them alone.
Research by children’s eyewear brand Monkey Monkey highlighted some decidedly mixed views on parent attitudes towards protecting young eyes from UV radiation. The study of 1,000 parents with children aged four to 12 revealed that more than half, 54%, wanted sunglasses to become an official part of school uniform, but 17% claimed there was not enough sun in the UK to ever warrant sunglasses.
August
There may have been some tension behind the scenes at EssilorLuxottica earlier, but that was put to one side when the company became even larger through the acquisition of Dutch optical retail group and owner of Vision Express, Grandvision. The deal, which saw Grandvision valued at up to €7.2bn, sent shockwaves around the world – especially so in the 40 countries where the company operated. EssilorLuxottica’s expansion in the retail sector was always going to happen, it was just a question of what route would be taken. The dust might start to settle in 2020.
geek.
September
August’s silly season was followed by a month of serious business in September.
Channel 4 consumer advice show Supershoppers took aim at expensive glasses and high street opticians with an ill-informed segment that encouraged viewers to purchase frames online and get them glazed separately. Just a week later, Which? released a report into glasses that had been purchased online. The consumer advice service found online retailers were supplying substandard spectacles that could cause safety issues. Seven of the 26 (27%) pairs of glasses failed the tests and did not conform to British Standards.
Later in the month, Optician broke the news that a trailblazer group of companies in the optical sector then received approval to develop an apprenticeship standard for the role of optometrist. Reaction so far has been mixed. A petition in objection to the apprenticeship has attracted over 11,000 signatures.
October
Primary Care Support England (PCSE) rolled out a new online ophthalmic payments service for opticians who are commissioned to deliver ophthalmic services on behalf of NHS England. Many opticians who claimed the fees in recent years had experienced severe delays and errors in claims through PCSE and Capita, but the two organisations hoped that the introduction of the online service would bring an end to a tumultuous chapter that involved several healthcare sectors and the intervention of then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond.
Elsewhere, a team from Moorfields Eye Hospital and NHS Forth Valley Scotland delivered the world’s first tele-examination of an eye in 4K resolution using 5G broadband and research from the Crabb Lab at City, University of London found that sight was the sense most valued.
November
Optical news was at its international eclectic best in November and Optician covered it all. The prominence of artificial intelligence (AI) in the eye health sector continued to grow, with research from the US finding AI capable of detecting diabetic retinopathy with 95.5% accuracy within 60 seconds – without the input of an ophthalmologist.
In Japan, many women found themselves on the receiving end of discrimination in the workplace on account of wearing glasses. Misguided reasons for this included ‘giving off a cold impression.’ Quite rightly, Japanese women rebelled.
Japanese TV report
Nicola Adams
As the year drew to a close, opposition to a proposed apprenticeship standard grabbed the headlines. The Ophthalmic Practitioners Group sought to build on the change.org petition with a galvanised approach to lobbying associations and various stakeholders. The volume of practitioners wanting to have their say prompted the College to secure an extension to the consultation currently taking place. The scheme will undoubtedly be 2020’s hot topic.
