Moneo writes: Why not deregulate refraction?

So just how radical is the world of optometry? With the NHS England Call to Action we have for the first time in a very long while the opportunity to think radically about the future of eye care. But just how radical will we be? Already a lot of the conversation seems to revolve around how much we will get paid and how many more of the same old pathways we can roll out nationally. This is not radical thinking.

The first thing I would like to see happen as a practising optometrist is an end to the outdated NHS sight test. In fact why not deregulate refraction altogether? That way we can develop an eye healthcare system that is not dependent on selling glasses. This point was admirably put by my colleague Verum in his last column (01.08.14). But everyone will go blind if we do not check they can read letters on a letter chart I hear everyone cry. I would have to argue with that contention. I have yet to find any evidence that deregulated refraction leads to mass blindness. Indeed in countries where the refraction is deregulated this has not been the case. Whenever I have asked the World Council of Optometry for evidence that deregulated refraction leads to an increase in eye disease and blindness, they have not been able to supply any evidence whatsoever.