OO cleared of misconduct

A General Optical Council fitness to practise committee has cleared optometrist Siobhan Higham of misconduct after alleging she failed to diagnose a patient's retinal detachment.

The allegations arose from a patient visit in 2010, at which a man complained of partial loss of vision - likened to a smudge on his spectacles. The committee said the registrant carried out an examination but failed to undertake tests warranted by the symptoms. Higham recorded that the patient's symptoms were vascular related.

The committee heard that due to reasons beyond the registrant's control, the patient was not given a timely appointment and his vision deteriorated. The detached retina was eventually diagnosed by Moorfields Eye Hospital, who operated the day after.