Simon Jones: War footing

As I write this, Optician is in the middle of readying its team for what looks to be a prolonged period of remote working. There shouldn’t be any disruption to your weekly supply of industry news and features, but if there’s one thing that is certain at the moment, situations change in an instant.

While Optician is agile enough to meet the demands of current circumstances, practices on the front line are left with very few options and a worrying outlook.

At present, many practices are remaining open with heightened sanitisation measures and patient symptom screening, but with those over the age of 70 having been told to stay at home for at least the next 12 weeks, increased social distancing among the rest of the population and prioritisation of essentials items over routine healthcare, it’s difficult not to be gravely concerned for many optical businesses.