Moneo writes

Are you listed?
The problem with writing a column a couple of weeks before its publication date is that it may not seem current at the time of publication.

But, as you read this, I will be away on my holidays and thus, rather selfishly, I make no apologies for the fact that it may not encompass the very latest news. However, I fear that my topic this month will be rather relevant.

Having spent the last few weeks talking to managers of various PCTs around the country, it is rather a worrying thought that come August 1 it would seem that there are going to be rather a lot of optometrists who will not be correctly registered on the new ophthalmic lists despite the PCTs' best efforts.

It will come as quite a shock when submissions are made for the August payment run, only to find that they are not due any money, despite what they might think, because they are either not on a contractor list or have just completed a month's work for someone else who is not on a contractor list!

The level of apathy among optometrists staggers me. When I have spoken to them they either are not aware of the new requirements or seem to expect somebody else to do the work of ensuring they are on the correct list.