Optician has lifted the lid on how well the new contact lens regulations are working, in a mystery shopper exercise involving big-name online suppliers such as Asda and Tesco
Optician’s team looked at how stringently the measures to ensure patient safety are being applied in the first months after the new laws were ushered in.
Companies well known to the profession – Specsavers, Optical Express and Postoptics – were tested, along with less familiar online suppliers.
In some areas the telephone survey found companies acting within the new regulations, which were introduced by the GOC last summer.
But on several occasions they fell short of recommendations, prompting Professor Roger Buckley, chairman of the General Optical Council’s standards committee, to describe some of the responses as ‘frankly horrific’.
Scenarios in the research involved patients ordering lenses with no prescription, supplying beyond a known expiry date, switching brands and re-using daily disposables. The 15 scenarios were designed to expose suppliers that tried to cut corners under the new rules, or were unaware of what was required.
Although no lenses were purchased, the findings suggest that some suppliers may not be operating within the law while others are issuing inaccurate or inappropriate advice. Four out of eight companies contacted agreed to supply lenses based on prescription details read out over the telephone.
Optician recommends that it is in patients’ interests that a review of current practices among new supply routes be conducted as soon as possible. While sales occurring outside the UK cannot be regulated under UK law, it is hard for consumers to determine which suppliers must comply with the regulations.
Commenting on the findings, Professor Buckley said: ‘Optician should be congratulated on its initiative. Some of the responses are frankly horrific. Others are reassuring.
‘The GOC currently has a number of cases of illegal contact lens sales under investigation. Anyone with evidence of such sales should contact the investigation team.’
He said the GOC was particularly concerned about sales of lenses for under-16s. ‘We would like to remind all practitioners that “general direction” does not apply to sales of contact lenses for children. Supply must be supervised by a registered practitioner, which would normally mean that the practitioner was physically present when the sale took place.’
Optician made a total of 120 calls to 16 online suppliers in February and March. The full research can only be read in Optician, April 28, 2006.
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Survey reveals failings in contact lens safety measures
Optician has lifted the lid on how well the new contact lens regulations are working, in a mystery shopper exercise involving big-name online suppliers such as Asda and Tesco