Record-keeping was appalling, admits OO

An optometrist was fined '1,000 last week after admitting his record-keeping was 'appalling'.John Carrington, who is registered in Towcester, Northamptonshire, faced five charges of serious professional misconduct when he appeared before a General Optical Council disciplinary committee on October 23. Four of the charges related to alleged inadequate eye examinations Mr Carrington carried out during 1998, 1999, and 2000 on his patient Thomas Forrest, who was later diagnosed as suffering from glaucoma.Ian Stern, prosecuting, told the committee that Mr Forrest was 57 at the time of the first test in question, and records of any internal or external examination were missing. 'Tonometry is missing for the last two records, and that should be carried out for someone over 40.' The committee chairman Barrie Wilcox said the panel was not satisfied that the eye examinations were inadequate. However, the committee viewed 'seriously' the lack of adequate patient records and handed down a penalty order of '1,000 for the fifth charge of serious professional misconduct related to Mr Carrington's poor record-keeping.The committee heard evidence from Mr Forrest, Dr Robert Harper, principal optometrist at the Royal Manchester Hospital, and the optometrist charged.Mr Carrington told the committee that the patient's complaint was 'a wake-up call' to the way he kept details of his patients visits. 'Now my records are like much more detailed,' he said, 'they are like War and Peace.'