Bill Harvey: It was the best of times

A full eye examination will vary in the time it takes depending upon the patient and their needs. Working to a clinic diary where appointments are booked as set to the same amount of time is never going to work unless there is some flexibility throughout the day.

Over last weekend, the Royal College of General Practitioners made it known that they were pushing for the appointment times in GP surgeries to be extended from 10 to 15 minutes. This surprised me somewhat as, not only was I unaware that there existed a current 10 minute limit, but from my own experience, I do not ever remember appointments having such a proscribed timing. Indeed, the time taken usually matches the nature of the consultation.