The date when optical practices might be able to begin the process of picking themselves up off the floor is becoming something of a holy grail.
The green light for a return to routine eye testing in England is something many readers and businesses have asked about, but it seems to be some way off yet. Or is it?
Last week’s news that dentists could return to work will have caught the attention of many eye care professionals, but it caught the dental profession on the hop. An account from one dental practice said it had been given just 10 days’ notice of the reopening, but crucially it was still waiting for defined guidance on how it could operate and the exact PPE that would be required. Like many practices, it had given resources of PPE and oxygen to frontline NHS but replacing this was now a significant challenge for them.
The Optometric Fees Negotiating Committee (OFNC) says it is working closely with NHS England to set a date on which
opticians may be able to start testing again and I have no reason to doubt the OFNC when it says that. But I worry that the pace at which the government is currently easing lockdown measures will force the hands of everyone involved with practices up and down the country facing a date they’re not ready for.
One of the pieces of advice Optician’s previous editor, Chris Bennett, often gave was to put politics to one side, but in this instance, I must elect not to. The government’s handling of the Covid-19 crisis here in the UK has been, at best, totally incompetent. Whatever the best intentions of third parties like the OFNC, the poor decision making and, let’s be frank, deceit of government in the past few months will trickle down from the very top and is likely to cause more harm to the industry than absolutely necessary. Sadly, the government’s decision now seems to be whether the optical profession is more closely aligned with non-essential retail or beauty salons.