Letter: Support grows for peer helpline

I am writing in response to the Editor’s Comment, ‘Taking mental health challenges seriously’.

The response to the AOP about our initiative to launch a Peer Support Line has been overwhelmingly positive, both from our members and others across the optical sector – with many saying that this is a service they would use or would have liked to have used in the past.

The Peer Support Line, which will launch in May 2017, responds to the need for a different kind of support for those working in the profession who have worries that fall outside of our established legal, clinical or regulatory advice. This service was born out of direct feedback from our members who told us they regularly experience stress due to pressures in practice.