Enhanced optical services have been called every name under the sun but it is time to choose something that will stick with commissioners.
Deciding on names can be a complex business, with a host of considerations to factor in, including longevity, impact and uniqueness.
When naming a new practice, take care to avoid embarrassing double entendres or clashing with high street rivals. Brand names meanwhile should subtly reflect the product without fading into the background altogether.
Some buckle under the pressure of deciding – just look at the effort taken by contestants in this year’s saga of The Apprentice before coming up with the team name Nebula – meaning a cloud of gas and dust in outer space. Lord Sugar has since made this a reality for most of them.
As for naming pets, many owners prefer to avoid making them sound too humanlike, while names such as Lassie are out of bounds among parents for the exact opposite reason.
Meanwhile, a conference report from the National Optical Conference in this week’s Optician notes how enhanced services will be renamed to ‘use terms the NHS understands’.
Locsu now wants practitioners to use the term ‘extended primary care services’ for the extra clinics they offer patients with conditions including glaucoma, cataract and low vision.
It is a minor tweak to previous umbrella terms ‘enhanced optical services’ and ‘community eye schemes’ and is designed to position optics closer to GPs, pharmacists and dentists on the NHS primary care map.
However, there will come a time to stop pandering to needless health service jargon and bureaucracy, especially when the wonderfully simple phrase ‘shared care’ tells commissioners everything they need to know.