Moneo May 13

 No surprises
Has it come as a surprise to anyone, following the College of Optometrists' research, that most people visit an 'optician' only when they perceive a change in their eyesight?
Is it a surprise that 96 per cent of people never having had an eye test have not done so because they have never had a problem with their eyes or don't think there is a need to? None of this is new. The shame of it is we as a profession have known this for years and have done little or nothing to change it.
In 1999 the then secretary of the College was saying: 'The public should be made aware that it has a high standard of optometric careÉ. Research has repeatedly shown that many individuals do not view eye examinations as a vital health check.'
To be blunt about it, we are and always have been a profession that chooses to be dependent on our retail sales income to make a living rather than the income derived from our professional services. This stance was strengthened with the advent of the retail opticians following deregulation in 1989. Dean Butler, the former chairman of Vision Express, speaking in 1998 said: 'Optical managers should hire those with retail experience. It is easier to train a retailer in optics than to teach retailing to someone with an optical background. They should also aim upmarket, presenting the most expensive frames first.'
We have allowed this approach to so-called eye care in this country to develop and we should hang our heads in shame. The public is fed a constant line on television and in magazines that they should visit 'opticians' to get cheap glasses, free glasses, the list goes on. What is worse is that they are told on many occasions that when they do go to an optician the bit they go through before the sale is available as a cut-price or even free option.
How does any of this serve to inform the public that our real role is to preserve their eyesight and, on many occasions, potentially play an integral part in saving their life?