MPs have given a stinging criticism of the current state of the UK laser eye surgery sector, including a denouncement of optometrists receiving referral payments for refractive treatment.
The all-party parliamentary report, which has taken a year to complete, came about following concerns by the MPs involved over the standards of surgery.
Frank Cook MP, one of the four authors who has undergone successful laser treatment himself, told optician in the summer that his colleagues had been 'shocked and dismayed' at what they had discovered.
The criticisms in the report. released on Wednesday, include:
Optometrists are often offered financial incentives to refer patients to particular clinics or surgeons, payments which are 'dressed up' as co-management and follow-up monitoring rewards.
Optometrists undertake laser eye surgery patient follow-up without the necessary specialist training. Some patients never see their ophthalmic surgeon following surgery.
Many problem cases arise directly from inappropriate patient selection, and acceptance and rejection of candidates for the procedure is highly variable.
In isolated cases, medical professionals such as GPs and those without any training in ophthalmology are practising laser eye surgery.
Consent forms are 'highly variable' in quality and 'fail to explain the balance of risks against potential benefits'.
High street practitioners are 'commonly' flaunting ASA advertising standards, and there are no control mechanisms on the internet.
'Highly variable' information is published by clinics, with little independent information available to optometrists and GPs.
The report urges the Government that its new agency, the Healthcare Commission, take on the role of regulator 'to police the industry'. And the MPs strongly advise that clinics should be forced to deliver an annual audit of success rates, surgical complications and infection rates to the Commission which will issue a 'annual licence to practise'.
'This agency must be able to apply serious and meaningful sanctions where clinics or surgeons fail to comply with new standards,' the report says.
The MPs also want the College of Optometrists and Royal College of Ophthalmologists to work together to set 'stricter standards of regulation for refractive surgery'.
When asked by optician what sanctions optometrists could face for being paid for referring potential laser patients, Gwyneth Dunwoody, one of the authors, said: 'As a voluntary body we did not have time to explore all the important questions, and that is why we shall hope to hold talks with ministers concerned in order to discuss the full implications of the measures that we propose.'
'This is undoubtedly an on-going work.'
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