Open joint committee meetings will be put forward for consideration by the whole Optical Confederation following the success of the first such meeting held last week by the Domiciliary Eyecare Committee (DEC).
The DEC meeting involved 32 optometrists, DOs and optometric advisers. Acting chair Jayne Rawlinson said: 'We decided to hold an open meeting to ensure transparency and inclusivity of the committee's work.' Everyone within the sector was invited to attend and raise issues they considered important.
'It has provided an ideal opportunity for everyone involved in domiciliary eye care to find out about the work of the committee and to discuss issues with colleagues,' she added. 'I was delighted with the large turnout and the productive debate. We agreed that this would be an annual feature in the DEC work programme.'
A lively debate was held on the role and membership of the DEC, the independent adjudicator service and domiciliary information leaflet, marketing and the role domiciliary providers should play in local health networks and the Eye Health Indicator.
DEC secretary Giles Butler said the open meeting had proved such a success a proposal for it to be adopted elsewhere in the OC would be put forward for consideration at the next OC meeting.