Visus writes: It’s better that we act

Sometimes it takes a major shift in policy to initiate change, usually it’s slow burn. The dissonance in optometric scope and delivery of practice has been evident for many years yet three things stick out as high impact catalysts; the 1989 removal of the universal right to an NHS Sight Test, the expansion of eligibility to include over 60s in 1997 and the 2009 NICE CG85 Guidelines on the secondary care of glaucoma.

Interesting in these times of government rebellions, back-bench machinations and abrupt changes in policy the first item was responsible for one of the few Commons defeats by MPs and the second was Gordon Brown’s unique change to the previous administration’s spending plans as Chancellor in 1997.