Optician Round-Table: LOCSU community matters

Practitioners need to react to commissioning opportunities or they could lose out to new providers in the market, with such community eye care involvement vital for future success, according a LOCSU-sponsored round-table event at Optician’s offices last week.

A panel made up of LOCSU representatives, independent and multiple practitioners, suggested that outside providers, for example Virgin Health, could win contracts and then subcontract to practitioners.

LOCSU optical lead Dharmesh Patel said that large corporations had decided healthcare was of interest and ophthalmology was a target as well. There were also groups of ophthalmologists who would be pursuing community work. ‘They come in all shapes and sizes essentially,’ he said.