There was much positivity following the publication of data from the General Optical Council’s public perception research that found optometry practices outscored GPs when people were asked where they would go first with an eye problem. But a rather concerning awareness gap has reared its head.
Data from the College of Optometrists on the effects of the cost of living crisis found that half (50%) of the 2,003 participants were aware that children under the age of 16 were entitled to NHS-funded sight tests. This is a concerning statistic in isolation, but it becomes even more significant when you consider that 21% said they would put off eye tests for them or their children until they could afford any vision correction needed.
NHS-funded sight testing hasn’t exactly been flavour of the month, for a variety of reasons, among optical practices for well over a decade, but are we really at a point where the profession is being so clandestine about offering NHS care that half of the public are no longer aware that it exists? Given that most talks on ‘going private’ at various conferences involve content or anecdotes about no longer promoting NHS sight testing as a first step to going private care only, I would opine that it has probably been a factor in overall lack of awareness.
I doubt I’m alone in thinking that the rise of the free eye tests offered by optical corporations has probably had a detrimental impact on how the NHS sight test is viewed by those that hold the purse strings when it comes to remuneration.
The way in which free eye tests have been marketed to the public in the past, then subsequently withdrawn, may have also done long-lasting damage, and contributed to some of what the College says are the myths surround the costs of accessing eye care and optical appliances.