Chris Bennett: Saving lives, not staying silent

Preventing tragedies, such as the one suffered by Vincent Barker (see In Focus), is exactly what drives the optical profession and lessons must be learned from this young boy’s death.

Few can imagine the heartbreak Vincent’s parents will have to bear following the death of their son. Their motive in bringing the case of manslaughter by gross negligence against optometrist Honey Rose is selflessly honourable. Reliving a nightmare to highlight the health benefits and value of good optometry so other parents don’t have to suffer their fate is something few parents would do.

Sadly that message has not been pushed to the fore during this case by those representing optics. The mainstream media can only present the case as it sees it. The danger is that the man and woman in the street may take away the simplistic, incomplete and incorrect view that this young boy died after visiting an optometrist.