It’s always frustrating to see just what percentage of the public would go and see their GP if they woke up one morning with a problem like a red eye or blurred vision instead of an optometrist (‘Optician’ if you’re the General Optical Council or MEL Research).
Released this week, findings in the GOC’s annual research exercise on how the public see optometrists and dispensing opticians showed that one in three now said they would go to an optician. The 30% figure is a record high, but it’s still worryingly low in my book.
More positive is how the gap between those who would see a GP in the same circumstances, or see an optician, has narrowed in recent years. In 2015, 54% said they would see a GP, compared to just 19% who they would go to an optician. Today, it’s 38% and 30% respectively.
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