Visus writes: What are the pitfalls of the brave new world of enhanced optical services?

So what is this brave new world we are busy signing up to, this world of enhanced services in Optometry? I am not using the term EOS (enhanced optical services) because there is precious little ‘optical’ in any of them and in fact it rather perpetuates the myth that ‘opticians’ are all about things optical which is, of course, partly the reason we are where we are.

This brave new world will have many things we are not used to. Budgets. Even the much-lauded Scottish contract has started to sweat as the civil servants in Edinburgh strive to continue what is in effect an open-ended non-cash-limited service. Given the national basis there are clearly savings being made by closing remote A&Es and letting the optometrists run primary eye care, treating and directing accordingly. Nevertheless, the question has to be asked when will the inflation-busting costs of clinical practice start to fall back against the availability of funds?