Optical bodies add weight to Primary Care message

Optical representatives will stress how primary care is far more than general practice at the forthcoming 2015 Labour and Conservative party conferences.

The National Community Hearing Association, Optical Confederation and Pharmacy Voice are calling for the NHS to make better use of community audiologists, opticians and pharmacy teams at the conferences.

Chris Hunt, chairman of the OC, said: ‘The nation’s optometrists and opticians carry out over 20 million sight tests a year at convenient locations in the community. But they can do far more as part of the primary care service to meet growing demand and help close the NHS funding gap.’

Mark Georgevic, National Community Hearing Association chair, added: ‘This is a landmark year for hearing care. Not only have the WHO, the Chief Medical Officer and NHS England prioritised hearing as a major public health challenge but the tools are now in place to help the NHS meet growing demand within available resources.