Reader's Digest, one of the UK's highest circulation magazines, has launched a blistering attack on the profession with a report entitled 'The Great Eye Test Scandal'.
This latest attack comes only months after Which? (News, September 7), claimed that nearly half of all eye examinations by optometrists were poor or very poor.
Published earlier this week, the Reader's Digest report is based on reporter Nick Morgan's undercover visit to 10 optometrists for an eye test. Morgan alleges that 30 per cent of the optometrists who examined him failed to spot signs of pigment distribution and raised IOP. 'The same eyes, the same city (north London) and the same day, yet very different results,' he writes.
'Of all 10 optometrists I visited - well known high street names, independents and a supermarket - only seven were able to pick up that something was seriously wrong with my eyes and either refer me to my GP or ask me to come back for more tests. Three said nothing more than, "See you in a year".'
In a bid to get a definite assessment of his eye health, Morgan went to see Dr Deacon Harle, lecturer at the Institute of Optometry, who was flagged up by the article as 'one of the most highly qualified optometrists in the UK'.
Morgan quotes Harle as saying: 'There is pigment on your cornea it's very subtle, but with other signs as well I can say you have pigment dispersion syndrome. I'm going to refer you.'
Harle also revealed to Morgan that while working as a newly qualified optometrist in a chain where the patient chose spectacles before the eye test, he would be quizzed by the manager as to why he had lost a sale in the event that the patient's prescription had remain unchanged or that spectacles weren't necessary.
The article also features an interview with the AOP's David Craig who pointed out that English practices receive £18.85 from the Department of Health for performing an NHS sight test, yet the cost to the optometrist was just over double that figure.
He added that even private tests don't usually pay for themselves and that if optometrists wanted to stay in business they needed to recoup cash through selling products. 'This can create a blurring of priorities between the medical and the commercial,' he is quoted as saying.
Morgan also alleges that during his eye examination at the supermarket, noting his high eye pressure, the optometrist suggested that he try a contact lens. He also adds that sight test fees varied from one practice to another and highest he paid for an examination was £55, which included Optomap retinal scan.