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College initiative gives cause for concern

Associations
​Practitioners react angrily to College marketing campaign

Practitioners have reacted angrily to a College marketing campaign detailing a patient information leaflet initiative in conjunction with Specsavers.

Optometrist David Bennett took to Twitter to vent his frustration at the College: ‘You are meant to represent the profession and not a single company. This needs investigation at the highest level.’

College director of member services and communications Catherine Bithell said: ‘Last week, the College announced the opportunity for members, practices and groups meeting certain membership criteria to co-brand the College’s extensive range of patient materials, and at the same time announced that a prominent multiple had come on board to do this.

‘The College has acknowledged it made a mistake in the way it communicated the decision, and has apologised for this. We will be explaining the initiative to our members fully in all future communications.’