Orthoptist numbers sufficient to screen

Under-fire children's vision screening in schools has not suffered due to a shortage of orthoptists, a spokesperson for the profession said.

Lesley-Anne Baxter, chair of the British and Irish Orthoptic Society, told Optician 1,283 orthoptists in the UK was sufficient for school screening provided the right systems were in place.

A report by Which? last week found 19 per cent of PCTs had failed to offer local schools a screening solution this term, nearly double the amount two years ago. Baxter, who was involved in the report, flagged up South Devon, where children who failed orthoptic screening were then sent to optometrists accredited by the trust. In this service children were not seen in the hospital at all unless other problems were flagged up.