No locus standi

Norbert Hartmann's view of NHS arrangements (optician, Letters, January 8) merits special attention. 'The sight test fee is for the practitioner who performs the test, not for the practice owner.' That is manifestly not so for, as indicated above, the money represents contractual payment for services provided by the contractor, be he individual or corporate, in accordance with contractual obligations. It is, therefore, totally irrelevant who actually carries out the work - the contractor, an employee or a locum - the sole requirement being that it is carried out according to the terms of the NHS contract. RM Morris, writing in the same issue, appears equally unworldly in his contention that, in the event of permanent locums being asked to pay for the facilities provided for their professional use, 'they just will not come'. In that event one wonders what would they do? The fact is that, in employment terms, the ophthalmic optical profession continues to provide a class- ical example of a buyer's market for job seekers (I use the term loosely) - and is likely to remain so. In other words, the market will find its own solution, and hence we need not lose any sleep over temporarily aggrieved locums or staff-starved employers.