Simon Jones: Opportunity knocked

Nine times out of 10, a mainstream BBC Breakfast feature on a health condition with growing prevalence among children would be welcomed by the relevant healthcare profession.

So the backlash following the College of Optometrist’s involvement in a recent segment on the increasing number of children being diagnosed with myopia seemed a little strange. ‘Where were the details of myopia management interventions?’ asked disgruntled practitioners on social media. ‘A colleague had a patient cancel further myopia management because of this statement,’ claimed another. The condemnation was fairly widespread.

But is the College getting the rough end of the stick? Possibly. The College has said it was invited on the feature to talk about screen time, visiting local optometrists and spending time outdoors. It was not, however, asked to respond directly to myopia management. In the final edit, myopia management clinical lead Sarah Douglas didn’t even get the chance to highlight myopia management. The College said much of what its clinical adviser told the BBC wasn’t included either.