Letters: September 7

I am pleased to see that the profession is united in applauding the recent move by the DoH towards independent prescribing (Optician, News August 31).

I will be even happier when they tell us that we get proper fees for doing this work, bearing in mind the hopelessly inadequate sight exam fee. World-class primary eye care - on the cheap.

Also, what guarantees do those practitioners who qualify have against having their funding removed at a moment's notice, as with the diabetic screening scheme?

Max Davison
Malvern, Worcestershire

I feel I must comment on the recent Which? consumer report that sent optometry students ‘undercover’ to assess a number of sight tests across various companies, concluding that almost half of the sight tests were ‘poor, or very poor’. I graduated in optometry in July of this year and I’m now six weeks into my pre-reg year, and I can categorically say that as an ‘optometry student’ I would not be competent enough to assess a qualified optometrist’s sight test. It is only now during my pre-reg year that I am beginning to realise what actually constitutes a ‘good’ sight test!