Bill Harvey: Refer or not – what is your postcode?

There are some aspects of optometric practice which vary according to where you work to such a degree that it is increasingly difficult for a single lecture or CET article to adequately cover the subject for all of the UK. The obvious example here is the different approach taken in Scotland. Optician has published CET covering the SIGN guidelines relevant to glaucoma referrals above the border and will be publishing an article on the latest Scottish diabetic retinopathy grading process in the coming months.

Perhaps the greatest variation can be found in local approaches to referral. In some areas, Scotland for example, the optometrist has a much greater influence on the refinement of any referral and has access to a secondary NHS fee for some of the procedures that might be warranted before a referral is considered – contact tonometry, pachymetry, full threshold fields and so on.