Regular readers of this column will know that in the past I have spared little when it comes to highlighting what I perceive to be shortcomings in our professional bodies. However, not this month. I would like to congratulate wholeheartedly, the chief executive of the Association of Optometrists (AOP) for his recent comments concerning the announcements made by Thérèse Coffey, the new health secretary around her new NHS ‘Plan for Patients’.
Like all recent health secretaries, Coffey demonstrates from the outset her complete lack of understanding of the NHS. The greater sadness is, by making the announcements she did, it is clear she is still surrounded by the same civil service team who also either misunderstand the NHS completely or have deliberately set about misguiding the health secretary from the outset. Either option is totally unacceptable.
Setting out the AOP response to this latest document, Adam Sampson, CEO of the AOP, makes it crystal clear that ‘the plan’, and here I congratulate him for his diplomacy, ‘does not understand the primary care family that ultimately is the answer to the high quality and safe care every patient deserves.’ He goes on to say: ‘Like pharmacists, the network of community-based optometrists working in high streets up and down the country provides a huge potential resource for the NHS to use and help alleviate the pressure on GPs.’
This comment is something myself and others have been shouting about for a very long time and have been calling for our representative bodies to make clear to the NHS senior hierarchy for many a year. It is therefore highly refreshing to see the new CEO of the AOP taking up the gauntlet and calling the health secretary to account. Sampson goes on to say ‘the challenges facing the NHS must be addressed by a properly considered plan, and one that is forged alongside the healthcare professionals who deliver care. We, therefore, urge the minister to engage with the primary care workforce – of which optometry is a part – that is ready to protect the NHS now and have a meaningful impact on the lives of patients.’
These comments are to be welcomed by all who care about the nation’s eye healthcare and delivery of that service. Sampson has now looked to mobilise the AOP to call for this to happen, but it is such a large task none of us should expect the AOP to deliver on its own. Other professional bodies, including the General Optical Council, must throw their weight behind the demands laid down by the AOP in the interests of their members and service users as a whole.
For too long, this profession has meekly sat back and allowed itself to get kicked around by the various forms of the Department of Health and Social Care as they have come and gone. The same can be said of the approach to the various ministers. But that time must now change if we are truly to be recognised for what we do.
Evidence that we need to get our voice heard could not have been more amply demonstrated than with the publication of ‘Pulse reference’ by Pulse magazine. This is a booklet designed to help GPs make sense of patient presentations. For acutely painful and red eye, under the ‘Eye’ section, such invaluable nuggets for GPs include: ‘Carefully examine to assess acuity, state of the cornea and pupillary reflexes.’ Presumably, all GPs will now rush out and buy a slit lamp for the practice. Also included is this invaluable piece of advice: ‘Never use mydriatics when examining the red eye. You may precipitate acute glaucoma.’
This demonstrates a complete lack of understanding. Do they not know this risk is actually low. How do they think the diabetic retinopathy screening service would operate if it adopted this advice? When looking at glaucoma the advice includes ‘intraocular pressure measurement is essential if acute glaucoma is suspected.’ Usually done by a specialist. When it comes to flashes, floaters and transient visual disturbances, the first comment is ‘this symptom can be very difficult to fathom, not least because patients often find it nigh on impossible to describe exactly what they’ve experienced.’ It goes on to say: ‘It is tempting to “bounce” some of these cases to a local optician for assessment. Resist this approach – you may delay an important diagnosis and, besides, even a thorough examination is unlikely to provide anything like as much relevant information as a careful history.’
This sort of publication dramatically highlights the urgent need for eye care and problems associated with vision and eyes to be handled in the first instance by those clinically qualified and proficient to undertake the work: optometrists.
We, as a profession, must join with the AOP and other professional bodies to make our voice heard loud and clear. Why not start today by contacting your MP or prospective parliamentary candidate and invite them in for a chat about what you do and why not make use of the AOP press release?
Keep up the excellent work, Adam Sampson.