There has been much frustration on the Optician news desk this week about the level of press exposure certain optical stories attract.
While many of the real issues affecting the nation’s eye health go unreported, a Specsavers Healthcall vehicle crashing into a lamppost was last week deemed breaking news.
Yes, the driver was an eye care professional and, yes, Liverpool City Council joked they were ‘on sight’ to fix the car. But you would not necessarily expect such an occurrence to reach dozens of news outlets, including BBC News and the Daily Telegraph, with most going with predictable slogan-induced headlines that at times like these work both for and against Specsavers.
Following the furore, it was a serious disappointment when news of the optical profession’s vote of no confidence in ophthalmic payments service Capita struggled to make anywhere near the same impact.
In a scandal going back nearly two years, anger is building at Capita’s poor management of CET payments, performers lists and GOS payment applications. And now the Optical Confederation has joined the British Medical Association in writing to NHS England with an ultimatum for Capita to shape up or ship out.
As Optician went to press, there wasn’t a single mention of the Capita story by the same newspaper titles. It suggests the profile of high street optics must be bolstered as part of the solution for an overburdened NHS, offering enhanced optical services and latest products in one place. This would include better awareness of the vast investment in OCT on the high street, full scope of eye exams, underfunding of General Ophthalmic Services and the poor state of driver eye health.
At the very least, a story about eye care professionals being left out of pocket and unable to register ‘should’ve’ been worthy of a mention.