November 2014

Transcription

November 2014

dispensingoptics
Dispensing Optics
PO Box 233, Crowborough TN27 3AB
Telephone: 0781 273 4717
November 2014
Email: do@abdo.uk.com
Website: www.abdo.org.uk
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3
dispensingoptics
CONTENTS
November 2014
Cover point
3
Cover point
4
Continuing Education
and Training
Freeform: optimise or
individualise? Part 2
by Phil Gilbert
10
CET answers
Freeform: optimise or
individualise? Part 1
by Phil Gilbert
12
A Call to Action
Action on eye health services
Vice presidential change
As reported on page 32 of this issue,
Kevin Gutsell has resigned as ABDO
vice president upon his appointment
as the new chief executive of the
FMO at the beginning of October.
Kevin joined the ABDO board in 2009
and has made a significant
contribution to the decision-making
process. His extensive knowledge of
the profession, and his commitment
to the work of ABDO and its members,
made him an ideal choice for vice
president and he has fulfilled that
role admirably.
His loss to the ABDO board is
tempered by the knowledge that he
has been appointed to a significant
position in optics, where he will be a
leading figure in the political and
organisational future of the sector. I,
for one, am greatly looking forward to
working with him.
On 9 October, the ABDO board
unanimously agreed that Fiona
Anderson should become the new
Association vice president. Fiona will
be known to many, particularly to
members in Scotland where her drive,
energy and passion for the profession
have led to a series of exciting and
well-attended Area events. In
addition, her involvement with
Scottish optical politics has given her
a solid foundation for the very testing
role that she will face on the national
stage as she assumes the presidency.
14
Charity centenary
100 years of supporting veterans
with sight loss
by Antonia Chitty
16
Patient and practice
management
Share a picture –
save someone’s sight
18
ABDO overseas
Supporting optics in India
20
BCLA update
Contact lens pioneers
and visionaries
22
Silmo 2014
Best of British
by Marc Karbaron
This is a really exciting, as well as a
challenging, time for ABDO with an
ever-increasing membership,
continually changing demands on
members’ professional lives and a
very uncertain political world. Fiona is
ideally qualified to face these
challenges and I am sure all members
will join me in wishing her every
success during her period of office.
24
Tony Garrett n
32
Newsbrief
40
Disjointed jottings from
a DO’s desk…
Debate and education
in Bath
by John Pike
26
New products
Manx Missile marks milestone
28
30
Area news
Black arts
by Peter Black
Thinking outside the box
by Hannah Price
ABDO works in Partnership with:
ABDO is a member of:
Front cover:
Barbour International eyewear
available exclusively from
Norville Eyewear
ABDO also actively works in conjunction with:
The Worshipful Company
of Spectacle Makers
41
Frequently asked questions
42
Optician Index
43
Diary of events
4
dispensingoptics November 2014
Freeform: optimise
or individualise? Part 2
By Phil Gilbert FBDO
CompetencIes covered:
Dispensing opticians: Optical appliances, Refractive management
Optometrists:
Optical appliances
In Part 1 of this article, published in July,
we looked closely at the influence
freeform – or digital surfacing – has
with regard to both the industry and
profession, together with the potential
benefits that can be obtained by the
spectacle wearer. However, we only
looked at lenses that were optimised
during the manufacturing process and
did not consider freeform
individualisation, which can further
enhance the visual performance
experienced by the wearer.
In Part 2, the function of full
individualisation will be explored in
order to demonstrate the impact it can
have on powers prescribed following a
subjective refraction and relating it to
the ultimate prescription taking into
account the ‘as worn’ position. In order
to achieve this, a random Rx will be
taken, which is considered to be
bordering on the complex, and the
lenses virtually dispensed into a frame
that is also considered to be out of
the ordinary with regard to its fitting
parameters. We will then look at the
impact that the three main
individualised measurements have on
the Rx in turn and, lastly, with all three
measurements combined.
also chosen randomly but kept within
the normal values that we are likely to
encounter in our everyday lives. The
values were then fed into the
calculation programme used by Carl
Zeiss Vision in order to look at the
eventual verification powers given.
There are increasingly more and
more dispensing decisions to be
made and measurements that can
be taken depending on the complexity
of the chosen manufacturer’s fully
individualised lens design. However,
for the purposes of this article only the
three main influencing measurements
will explored, ie. vertex distance,
pantoscopic angle and face
form angle.
The Rx chosen was:
R +6.00DS -2.50DC axis 135 Add +2.50
L +4.00DS -3.25DC axis 75 Add +2.50
The Rx chosen was completely
random, albeit added complexity
was used by introducing higher
cylindrical powers with oblique axes.
The frame fitting parameters were
As we are dealing with manufacturing
production software, the Rx will
automatically be transposed into a
+ cylinder form and in all cases, the
verification power will be in cross
cylinder form to aid the recording of
the actual measured values on a
manual focimeter. All of the findings in
cross cylinder form have been
recorded, as this will demonstrate the
differences between the prescribed
values and the verification power in
the same format.
This article has been approved for 1 CET point by the GOC. It is open to all FBDO members,
including associate member optometrists. The multiple-choice questions (MCQs) for this month’s
CET are available online only, to comply with the GOC’s Good Practice Guidance for this type
of CET. Insert your answers to the six MCQs online at www.abdo.org.uk. After log-in, go to ‘CET
Online’. Questions will be presented in random order. Please ensure that your email address and
GOC number are up-to-date. The pass mark is 60 per cent. The answers will appear in the March
2015 issue of Dispensing Optics. The closing date is 7 February 2015.
C-37579
Continuing Education and Training
Note that by this stage some new
terminology has been used, which
may be unfamiliar to most readers.
The International Standards Body is
considering introducing the term
‘Verification Power’ to describe the
powers that manufacturers will issue
with the lenses. The term ‘Measured
Values’ would then be used to denote
the powers that are recorded once
the lenses have been checked
against the given verification power
on a focimeter. These terms will find
their way into BS EN ISO 13666
Terminology and ISO: TR18476, which
is a Technical Report on Freeform
currently being written.
The refractive index chosen for this
demonstration was n = 1.67 and the
frame measurements were 52 x 30 x 18
with a centration distance of 32 R & L
and fitting heights of 18mm. The
progressive corridor on the lens was
of standard length at 14mm. The
position of wear parameters chosen
were vertex distance 16mm,
pantoscopic angle 13°, face form
angle 10°.
In total, five separate entries were put
into the calculation programme in
order to make comparisons showing
the entry of the following:
1. The verification power for an
optimised but non-individualised
progressive lens
2. The verification power introducing a
measured vertex distance
measured pantoscopic angle
measured face form angle
5. The verification power introducing
all three individualisation
measurements
It must be pointed out that the
resultant verification power may well
vary between manufacturers as they
are produced using 100th dioptre
steps, however, individualisation is in
principle the same software function
with all lens producers. Variations
could be seen due to the
manufacturer’s individual freeform
software calculations by lens design
and other factors such as the chosen
refractive index, corridor length and
base curve which will have an
influence on the result.
DV Prescribed Values
DV Verification Power
R
3.50
6.00
45
R
3.46
5.88
46
L
0.75
4.00
165
L
0.80
3.85
165
NV Prescribed Values
NV Verification Power
R
6.00
8.50
45
R
6.39
8.17
44
L
3.25
6.50
165
L
3.53
6.12
169
Table 1: The verification power for an optimised but non-individualised progressive lens
Entry 1. The verification power for
an optimised but nonindividualised progressive lens
Although verification powers are
given by most manufacturers who
produce freeform lenses, their use for
non-individualised lenses are always
based upon industry averages with
regard to the three main parameters
comprising: vertex distance,
pantoscopic angle and face form
angle. Over the years, since freeform
technology was introduced, each
manufacturer has accumulated a
huge source of data with regard to
these averages and most lens
producers use parameters similar to
the following as a basis for their real
time freeform calculations:
• Vertex distance: 13mm
• Pantoscopic angle: 5°
• Face form angle: 5°
There has been a change in the
average pantoscopic angle, which
used to be 9° but which has now
been reduced due to the recent
trend for thicker spectacle frame
sides. This trend has led to lenses sitting
flatter in front of the eyes as the
thicker sides leave little leeway for
adjustment to obtain a higher
pantoscopic angle. These averages
will, again, vary slightly between
manufacturers depending on the
software that they are using, however,
as we will see from Table 1 the
resultant verification power difference
between these and the prescribed
values can still be significant.
On analysing the findings in Table 1,
we can straight away see changes in
the verification power that could
cause the dispensing optician to warn
a patient who is moving to a freeform
produced lens for the first time after
having worn a conventionally
produced semi-finished progressive
lens, that there may need to be a
period of adaptation. There are
significant power and cylinder axis
changes, particularly in the near
portion which, although designed to
give the patient improved vision,
could cause initial adaptation issues.
The cylinder axis changes in the near
portion are as a result of the eye
looking obliquely through the near
portion of the lens, very often at an
angle greater than 40°, as shown in
Figure 1. In fact, the longer the
progressive corridor and the lower the
pantoscopic angle, the more the
near axis will need to change in order
to overcome this issue.
Viewing through any spectacle lens
at an oblique angle will have an
effect on power but none more so
Continued overleaf
Figure 1: Looking obliquely through a lens for
near vision
6
Figure 2: Perpendicular lens position
Figure 2: Oblique lens position
Figure 3: Vertex distance measured in the ‘as
worn’ position
than through the near portion of a
progressive lens as the steepness of
the change in viewing angle can be
dramatic. In Figure 2 we can see a
lens in the first picture that through the
near optical area reads +2.75DS
+1.07DC axis 169, but on tilting the
lens in the second picture it now
reads +3.00DS +1.60DC axis 169
together with altered prismatic
implications. We will see as we go
through the various individualised
entries, and ending up with a fully
individualised product, how these
power factors can change.
spectacle frame when it is in position
on the patient.
a higher cylinder swing in the near
area right lens.
When dealing with the back vertex
power of lenses and how power
modification is calculated, we need
to appreciate that the total power of
an optical system can change by
adding distance between two
optical/refractive surfaces. This means
that the distance from the cornea of
the eye to the back surface of the
lens is crucial when it comes to fitting
lenses into a frame, particularly if the
power is high1.
Entry 3. The verification power
introducing just the measured
pantoscopic angle
vertex distance
As can be seen by the chart in Table
2, in this particular case there was
little overall change in distance
power even though the BVD has
increased by 3mm. The production
software has found either no or little
change by the introduction of a
different BVD. However, in the case
of the reading power there is a
significant increase in power values,
due to negative vergence, that
should be read on the focimeter and
The first question we need to ask is,
‘What is vertex distance?’ In the
Standard BS:EN:ISO 13666 vocabulary,
the vertex distance is stated as “the
distance between the back surface
of the lens and the apex of the
cornea, measured with the line of
sight perpendicular to the plane of
the spectacle front”.
It is a physical measurement that
can be taken manually or
electronically, which can then be
used to alter a prescription to take
into account the position in front of
the patient’s eyes of the
glazed spectacle lenses in direct
comparison with the position of
the trial lenses that were used in the
sight test environment. It is also used
by lens manufacturers for ‘fine tuning’
the resultant prescription with
regard to modern individualised
digital freeform generated lenses. In
Figure 3 we can see the vertex
distance that is measured with the
The definition of pantoscopic angle is
contained in the International
Standard BS:EN:ISO 13666: Vocabulary
which states that the ‘as-worn’
pantoscopic angle is the angle in the
vertical plane between the normal to
the front surface of the spectacle lens
at its boxed centre and the line of
sight of the eye in the primary
position, usually taken to be the
horizontal (angle between visual and
optical axes). The angle is regarded
as positive if the lower part of the lens
lies closer to the face. An example of
the pantoscopic angle is shown in
Figure 4.
The effect of pantoscopic angle can
be even more pronounced for
progressive lens wearers than for
single vision wearers. This is because
not only does it affect distance vision,
Table 2: The verification power after introducing just the measured vertex distance
R
3.50
6.00
45
R
3.46
5.88
46
L
0.75
4.00
165
L
0.79
3.87
165
R
6.00
8.50
45
R
6.45
8.49
42
L
3.25
6.50
165
L
3.52
6.43
169
Figure 4: The pantoscopic angle
Figure 5: Face form angle measurement
but it can have a dramatic effect on
the useable reading area. This is
particularly true in cases of higher
dioptric power in combination with
higher cylindrical power where the
progressive design of the lens and the
reading addition are moulded on the
front surface of a semi finished lens
blank. This surface was rarely optically
optimised with the power that was
then generated on the back surface
of the lens blank2. Freeform production
eliminates this problematic area.
face form angle
On analysing Table 3 we can now
start to see the impact that
individualised measurements can
make to the distance power area
where changes are seen by the axis
direction swing of 3° in the right lens
and power reductions of 0.25D in
both distance power cylinders. This is
in contrast to the axis directions at
near, which are 4° and 5° different to
the prescribed axis directions
respectively and higher power
increases at near than in the distance
but in the spherical components only.
Firstly, we need to look at the
standard frame and consider the
face form angle and base curve of
the lenses supplied; these need to
match in order to give the patient
good vision through their lenses.
Taking a standard frame and placing
it on a face form angle chart such as
the one shown in Figure 5, we would
expect the face form angle to be
around 5° and the lenses to be
worked with a standard base curve. A
frame where optical considerations
need to be made would be any
frame that has a face form angle of
between 8 and 20 degrees3. In fact,
care also needs to be taken with
regard to some rimless frames that
have a face form angle of between 0
and 4 degrees.
Good quality wrapped Rx lenses
should compensate for the following
Continued overleaf
Table 3: The verification power after introducing just the measured pantoscopic angle
R
3.50
6.00
45
R
3.39
5.75
48
L
0.75
4.00
165
L
0.81
3.72
165
R
6.00
8.50
45
R
6.43
8.43
41
L
3.25
6.50
165
L
3.52
6.36
170
Patient and practice management
8
errors, which are caused by the
oblique positioning of the lenses if the
frame is glazed with Rx lenses:
• Astigmatic error
• Prismatic error
• Axial error
• Centration error from mounting
the lenses
In Table 4 we can see the impact that
can occur on axis directions for near
when a higher face form angle is
introduced and here we are seeing a
near vision axis swing of 7° and 9°
respectively. Surprisingly, there is little
difference in the overall distance
powers but, again, higher spherical
powers are required in the near area.
The impact of a higher face form
angle also often introduces
manufactured base in prism,
particularly on sport frames of 15°
wrap and above. Although this entry
did produce some required
manufactured prism the values of
R & L 0.11∆ were not significant enough
to record or warrant overcomplicating
the experimental entries.
introducing all three
individualisation measurements
After having entered the three
measured parameters singly, the final
entry was to look at the verification
power of the progressive lenses with
all three combined. We have seen in
the previous tables how the powers
can change dependent on the
specific parameters, causing changes
both up and down in power and
back and forth on cylinder axes. It is
only now in Table 5 that we can see
the combined effect and the true
variation against the prescribed
powers, and it is now where the
significance of full individualisation
becomes apparent.
Relating this back to the question of
optimisation or individualisation in Part
1 of this article, you will see from the
values calculated in all of the
examples that we are dealing with
powers in 100th dioptre steps, which
may not appear too significant to
some. The comparison verification
powers between the optimised
version and the individualised version
seen in Table 6 may not initially
appear to be very different, however,
given that different powers and fitting
R
3.50
6.00
45
R
3.37
5.91
45
L
0.75
4.00
165
L
0.78
3.86
165
R
6.00
8.50
45
R
6.40
7.86
38
L
3.25
6.50
165
L
3.46
6.03
174
Table 4: The verification power after introducing just the measured face form angle
parameters can produce radically
increased difference in powers between
optimised and individualised lenses.
It will be appreciated that most
phoropters and trial sets are in 0.25D
steps and that the majority of
subjective refractions are undertaken
using these values. Most practitioners
would like to use 0.12D steps but the
subjective response from most patients
in a test environment is not sufficiently
reliable. Prior to digital freeform
production, the surfacing tolerance
on lens power was such that it was
difficult to manufacture lenses to such
high degrees of accuracy – but these
days lenses can be calculated and
produced with tolerances well below
the previous 0.06D levels.
One may ask why manufacturers are
aiming to produce lenses to such fine
tolerances in the 100th dioptre range
when patients find differentiating
between 0.12D in the test room so
difficult. It must be remembered,
however, that the whole point of
individualisation is the translation of a
very good subjective refraction into
powers that relate directly to the position
of wear of the patients new spectacle
frame. This position of wear is often very
different in comparison to a phoropter
head or trial lenses. The powers supplied
are calculated together so that the
combination all of these factors can
have a major bearing on the eventual
verification powers supplied and
ultimately the visual performance of
the lenses for our patients.
In conclusion, for those practitioners
who wish to see the impact position of
wear parameters can have prior to
dispensing and selecting the freeform
design format that they wish to
recommend, there is a very good
website that will give instant
evaluations regarding basic
verification powers. It can be found
by clicking the optical calculators link
on www.opticampus.com/tools. By
entering the refractive index together
with the various measured parameters
it can demonstrate the impact that
Table 5: The verification power introducing all three individualisation measurements
R
3.50
6.00
45
R
3.29
5.82
46
L
0.75
4.00
165
L
0.78
3.77
167
R
6.00
8.50
45
R
6.36
8.46
35
L
3.25
6.50
165
L
3.41
6.52
172
DV Verification Values
DV Verification Values
R
3.46
5.88
46
R
3.29
5.82
46
L
0.80
3.85
165
L
0.78
3.77
167
NV Verification Values
NV Verification Values
R
6.39
8.17
44
R
6.36
8.46
35
L
3.53
6.12
169
L
3.41
6.52
172
Table 6: The verification power comparing optimised and individualised results
non-average parameters will give on
the prescribed lens powers and help
the practitioner to decide whether to
optimise or ultimately individualise.
References
1. Gilbert P (2011) Back vertex
distance explored. Eyes September:
28-30.
2. Gilbert P (2008) Dispensing high
base curve lenses. Eyes September:
26-28.
3. Gilbert P (2011) Pantoscopic angle
explored. Eyes August: 28-30.
Graphics reproduced, and calculations
produced, courtesy of Carl Zeiss Vision.
Phil Gilbert is a qualified dispensing
optician with over 40 years’
experience. He currently works for
Carl Zeiss Vision UK as an ophthalmic
lens consultant. He is a committee
member of BSI TC/172/WG3
Ophthalmic Lenses and the chairman
of the Standards Panel of the
Federation of Manufacturing
Opticians. He has produced many
articles for the benefit of educating
ophthalmic professionals and is the
editor of the ABDO publication,
Ophthalmic Lenses Availability, which
lists and describes every spectacle
lens available in the UK. n
Restoration to the GOC register
Members restoring to the General Optical Council (GOC) register should note that any CET
points accrued over the number of points specified by the GOC for restoration will not be
carried over to their CET record on their new GOC number. It is only after your registration
date that the points will count towards your general CET requirement.
The current cycle runs from January 2013 to December 2015. Those joining the register
during that period, by restoration or by new qualification, will have a reduced general points
requirement equal to the number of whole months they have been registered by the end of
the cycle. n
10
Multiple choice answers:
Freeform: optimise or individualise? Part 1
1. Which statement is true?
a. The term ‘cut to polish’ is used to describe the single
process used to generate a finished lens surface using
freeform technology
b. The design features of a conventionally generated
progressive power lens surface can be accurately
determined by observing isocylinder plots
c. Where prescribed astigmatism combines with the
oblique astigmatism of a conventionally generated
progressive design, areas of clear vision become
constricted
d. Most base curves available for a traditionally generated
progressive power lens will eliminate peripheral
aberrations
c is the correct answer. Clarity is also likely to be reduced,
the main zone of concern being the already narrow
intermediate area.
2. Which option is correct? The definition of a freeform
surface manufactured for a specific prescription is…
a. a progressive surface of complex form with no
symmetry, individually computed
b. an optically complex, symmetrical surface specifically
computed
c. any surface individually designed and generated by
more than five-axes milling machines
d. an optically continuous surface, often of complex
asymmetrical form, individually computed
d is the correct answer. The surface does not have to be
progressive which rules out the otherwise correct answer in (a).
3. The use of a 6.25 base curve for conventional
progressives will provide the maximum clarity for which
one of these prescriptions?
a. +3.00D sphere and up to -0.50 cylinder
b. +2.50 to +3.00 sphere with a -0.25 cylinder
c. +2.75D sphere
d. +5.00D sphere and up to -1.25 cylinder
c is the correct answer. This illustrates the limitations of
conventional surfacing.
4. Which option is correct? When the power of the near
addition of a digitally-generated lens is measured with a
focimeter, the measured value can appear…
a. up to 0.25D weak
b. up to 0.25D strong
c. to have an unwanted cylinder
d. uncompensated
a is the correct answer. Therefore, it is essential to check
this against the near measured powers printed on the
lens packets.
5. Which option is correct? Hard lap tools for smoothing
and polishing…
a. can only be used on spherical and toroidal surfaces
b. rectify under-compensation of surface power
c. can produce rotationally-symmetrical aspheric surfaces
d. provide a non-aggressive finishing process for digital
surfacing
a is the correct answer. A uniform rocking motion that
produces relatively constant pressure over the entire lens
blank restricts the type of surface suitable for hard lap tools.
6. Which statement is true?
a. Entry level products that are digitally surfaced will tend
to exhibit the same visual performance as conventional
products
b. First generation short corridor lenses dispensed in relatively
shallow frames provided ideal intermediate, distance
and near zones
c. Traditional progressive power lenses were semi-finished
with a fixed corridor and addition power on the back
surface
d. The optimisation of a progressive design can only be
accomplished using digital surfacing technology
d is the correct answer. Slight but significant changes to
measurements such as face form angle and pantoscopic
angle can cause difficulties, which require detailed
adjustments to surface powers. These adjustments are only
possible with freeform technology.
To download, print or save your CET result letter, go to www.abdo.org.uk. Log-in and go to 'View your CET record'.
Costume drama at open house
The College of Optometrists welcomed 609 visitors on 21 September as part of Open House
London to look around the College’s historic HQ and visit its museum housing the world’s
oldest collection of spectacles and vision aids.
At the event, the College marked the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.
Visitors were transported back to 1914 for the launch of the British Optical Association
Museum’s First World War trail with costumed characters providing anecdotes and
information.
First World War remembered
Our photo shows Mark Dennis dressed as a First World War Royal Navy Lieutenant with
binoculars and military-issue spectacles out of the museum dating from 1915 and the
museum’s curator, Neil Handley, in period civilian dress, carrying an Edwardian Kodak
camera and pince-nez. n
Dr Lynne Watson receives her medal
The new lady Master with Don Grocott (right) and
Edward Middleton
The Worshipful Company of Spectacle
Makers (WCSM) has installed Dr Christine
Tomkins as its Master
Lady Master
takes office
D
r Tomkins, who is chief executive
of the Medical Defence Union, is
only the second lady ever to be
Master of the WCSM in the Company’s
385-year history. The first lady Master
was Anne Silk, a past president of
ABDO forerunner, the ADO, who was
WCSM Master in 1990.
Alongside Dr Tomkins, Edward
Middleton was installed as Upper
Warden and Don Grocott, as Renter
Warden. The ceremony took place at
the Company’s Annual Service of
Thanksgiving, Remembrance and
Rededication held at St Bride’s Fleet
Street on 1 October.
Master were to present the inaugural
Master’s Medal to Dr Lynne Watson of
Glasgow Caledonian University, and
the 13th Ruskell Medal to Dr Ania
Gonzarlez-Cordero, a researcher at
the University College London in
regenerative medicine and the use of
stem cells in creating therapies that
may one day restore sight.
The first official duties of the new lady
One of the final duties of outgoing
WCSM Master, Chris Hunt, was to
present the Lord Mayor of London,
Alderman Fiona Woolf CBE, with a
new pair of spectacles. The ceremony
took place at the Mansion House, the
Lord Mayor’s official residence on 30
September. n
Dr Christine Tomkins with Anne Silk
Past Master, Chris Hunt, presents the Lord Mayor
with her spectacles
12
The optical sector makes its voice
heard on the nation’s eye health
Action on eye
health services
T
he Clinical Council for Eye Health
Commissioning, of which ABDO is a
member, has submitted its response to
NHS England’s ‘Improving eye health
and reducing sight loss, a Call to
Action’. The response sets out
recommendations from the eye health
sector, including patient organisations,
about what needs to be done to ensure
that future services are provided in a
way that best serves patients’ needs.
In the face of significant challenges,
such as an ageing population with
complex conditions and financial
constraints, the Clinical Council
identified five main issues that would, if
addressed, make a major difference to
the delivery of eye health services to
patients:
1. Improve IT links across all sites where
eyecare is delivered and the wider NHS
and primary care to facilitate efficient
and secure communication and
sharing of patient information.
2. Address capacity issues in the
pathway to save patients from
unnecessary blindness and vision
impairment.
3. Maximise the use of the skills in the
eyecare pathway by ensuring that
patients are treated in the appropriate
place by the appropriate professional
at the appropriate time, whether in the
community or in the hospital.
4. Restructuring of hospital and
community delivery of services should
ensure reduction in procurement and
delivery costs whilst preserving quality.
Savings should be reinvested in
clinical care.
5. Improve communication and
relationships between the multiple
professions through better
commissioning to achieve a more
integrated eyecare pathway and
better patient care.
The vice chair of the Clinical Council for
Eye Health Commissioning, Dr Kamlesh
Chauhan, welcomed the opportunity
for eye health professionals to work
collaboratively to maximise the use of
available resources and to ensure high
quality care for patients in the most
appropriate setting for their individual
needs. “This is a unique and rare
opportunity for us to make a real
difference to eye health in England,”
he said.
Radical changes urged
Earlier, the optical sector urged clinical
commissioners to make “radical
changes” in their response to the
government’s Call to Action. LOCSU
and the Optical Confederation (OC)
argued that without making better use
of community optical practices, the
NHS would not be able to cope with
the welter of eye health needs, which
are driven by an ageing population
and the arrival of new treatments for
conditions which were previously
untreatable, and ultimately reduce
avoidable sight loss.
LOCSU managing director, Katrina
Venerus, said: “We are confident that
the optical sector has made a strong
case for what it can do, and we now
look forward to working with NHS
England and other stakeholders to
make it happen. At a national level we
have also worked closely with
organisations from across the whole
eye health sector on the response to
the Call to Action from the Clinical
Council for Eye Health Commissioning.
It is pleasing to see that the Council is
stepping up to the challenge of
providing national leadership for the
eye health sector and we are
delighted to be part of this truly
collaborative approach.”
The results of the CTA, along with the
findings from the CTAs for general
practice, pharmacy and dentistry that
took place over the past year, will be
used by NHS England to help it shape its
primary care commissioning strategy,
which is expected to be published later
in the year. The full response from
LOCSU and the OC can be found on
the ‘Call to Action’ pages of the LOCSU
website, www.locsu.co.uk
Dr Kamlesh Chauhan
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14
As Blind Veterans UK prepares to
celebrate its centenary, Antonia Chitty
finds out more about its work
100 years of supporting
veterans with sight loss
E
stablished almost 100 years ago,
Blind Veterans UK was set up to
support service men and women who
have lost their sight through accident
or disease, whether blinded in action
or due to old age. Today, the charity
assists more than 3,500 visionimpaired ex-service men and women,
no matter how long they served for, or
what caused their sight loss. For
almost 100 years, Blind Veterans UK
has been providing training,
rehabilitation, equipment and
emotional support to vision impaired
veterans and their families to help
them rediscover a life after sight loss.
open to anyone who has done
national service as well as visionimpaired Armed Forces veterans. The
charity offers person centred services
and tailored support to help veterans
relearn vital life skills, providing them with
the tools they need to be independent
in their own homes. It also offers
learning, training and recreation
opportunities as well as long-term
nursing, residential and respite care.
could be anything from a magnifier to
help them read their post to training
with a white cane to help them feel
more confident when out of the
house. Blind Veterans UK makes a
lifetime commitment to every veteran
who receives support. The charity
knows that sight loss can affect the
whole family, which is why it ensures
that its support extends to family
members.
No One Alone campaign
Blind Veterans was established in 1915
by Sir Arthur Pearson, founder of the
Daily Express newspaper. He had lost
his own sight through glaucoma and
was shocked at society’s attitude to
blindness. He decided to help those
who had lost their vision in the First
World War by giving them the care
and rehabilitation they needed to live
constructive self-sufficient lives. The
charity was known as the Blinded
Soldiers and Sailors Care Committee
before adopting the name St
Dunstan’s until 2012.
The services are offered from three
centres in Brighton, Sheffield and
Llandudno, North Wales, which offer a
wide range of facilities, including
nursing and residential care, sports
activities, arts and crafts and social
activities. The Brighton centre provides
permanent residential care, while
Llandudno offers respite care. Brighton
has a swimming pool, gym and bar,
and qualified welfare staff on site. The
Sheffield centre offers a range of
rehabilitation and training courses to
veterans as well as themed activity
weeks and short stay holidays. Blind
Veterans UK’s courses include IT,
communications, mobility and
independent living skills. The charity’s
head office is in London.
In 1915, the decision to offer this sort of
service was radical, and there are still
many in need of support today. The
charity provides free services and the
lifelong support that veterans need to
rediscover life after they have
experienced sight loss. Its services are
When a veteran contacts Blind Veterans
UK, they are given their own welfare
officer who will visit them in their home
to assess their needs and how they
can be helped to live more
independently. The charity helps with
whatever a person may need – that
It is estimated that there are more than
68,000 ex-service men and women
living with sight loss in the UK, who are
currently unaware of the support
available to them. This is why Blind
Veterans UK launched the No One
Alone campaign. Blind Veterans UK
believes that no one who has served
their country should battle blindness
alone. The campaign is reaching out
to every veteran in the UK now battling
severe sight loss to let them know that
support is available.
Blind Veterans UK has recently
renewed its partnership with
Specsavers for a second year.
Specsavers is providing support in a
number of ways, such as helping to
raise awareness of the No One Alone
campaign in stores and referring
veterans to the charity if they are
suffering severe sight loss. The
company is also helping to raise vital
funds, and for Armed Forces Day this
year it hosted a week of fundraising
Charity centenary
activities in participating stores around
the UK.
Specsavers founder, Dame Mary
Perkins, says: “We are delighted to be
able to support Blind Veterans UK in
continuing its very worthwhile work.
The charity provides life-changing
support to blind veterans, with the
wonderful ethos that if they served
their country then they do not have to
battle blindness alone.”
Life through the lens
Former Army reservist Mark Pile suffers
from amblyopia in his right eye and
functional vision loss in his left, leaving
him with severely limited bilateral
vision. Despite being registered as
blind five years ago, lifelong
photography enthusiast Mark has
been able to pick up his camera
again, thanks to the support of Blind
Veterans UK. Mark joined the Territorial
Army at the age of 20 as part of the
Light Infantry and went on to serve for
nine years, both in the UK and
overseas. He says: “I joined the TA and
loved every minute of it – for someone
with an interest in the military, it was a
fantastic opportunity.”
Mark has been receiving emotional
and practical support from Blind
Veterans UK since 2012, which has
helped him to come to terms with his
sight loss and pursue his love of
photography. “Initially, I was sceptical
about going to Blind Veterans UK – I
didn’t want to accept my sight
problem and I wasn’t sure that the
charity could help me,” Mark says.
“But after a couple of days at their
centre in Brighton, I felt like I’d become
a completely different person – I was
around people who had sight
problems like mine, and I started to
feel like my blindness wasn’t as big an
issue as I thought it was.”
Blind Veterans UK has provided Mark
with specialist equipment and training
to help him use his camera again.
Mark takes stunning photographs and
is able to print, mount and frame his
photos thanks to a studio in his garden
provided by Blind Veterans UK. Mark
says: “If it wasn’t for Blind Veterans UK, I
would not be doing the things I can do
today. They have changed my life and
I can’t thank them enough for that.”
Writing a new chapter
100-year-old World War II veteran, Bob
For Mark Pile, blindness isn‘t as big an issue as
he feared
Mark continues with his photography despite his
sight loss
Early, began receiving support from
Blind Veterans UK after he lost his sight
later in life due to age-related macular
degeneration. Bob served as part of
the Royal Artillery both in Italy and
Austria and played a key part in
helping to identify Nazi war criminals in
occupied Germany. Demobbed in
1946, Bob returned home to embark on
a varied career, which included setting
up his own joinery business and working
in the developing industry of television.
show you what’s available and not
only that, they teach you. You can
learn practically anything.
Later in life, Bob began writing his
memoirs and it was when he was
writing his second book that his eyesight
rapidly deteriorated. Bob says: “I was
coming towards the end of the book
and I realised that my sight was going
and of course that was a terrible thing.
I felt sorry for myself. I got in touch with
Blind Veterans UK and my word that
made a difference to my life.
“I went to the charity’s Brighton centre
and they assessed what I needed to
help me. They said they could teach
me to touch-type. Blind Veterans UK
provided me with all the equipment I
needed, and now I have a room at
home where I can sit in, write and type
away. It’s wonderful really. Blind
Veterans UK were a big help, they
The charity helped Bob Early to continue writing
“I've got a wonderful family and they
are very good to me but the point is
when you lose your sight you feel as if
you are on your own. Blind Veterans UK
makes all that different.”
If you want to support the work of Blind
Veterans UK consider talking to all
practice members about the services
offered by the charity, and mentioning
the help on offer to veterans with severe
sight loss. You could also display leaflets
and posters for people to take away if
they know of someone who could be
eligible for support. There are also many
ways to fundraise within the practice.
For more information about the No
One Alone campaign, visit
www.noonealone.org.uk or call 0800
389 7979.
Former optometrist Antonia Chitty
now writes on business topics. She
has written books including ‘Making
Money Online’, ‘Blogging: The
Essential Guide’ and ‘Marketing: The
Essential Guide’, providing effective
ways to grow your practice. n
Bob busy being creative
16
Find out how ABDO’s new series of Infographics is spreading the
word about eyecare and the varied role of the registered DO
Share a picture –
save someone’s sight
H
ave you shared a picture with
someone? Whether you have
printed holiday snaps, or shared a
picture on your phone, showing
someone else an image comes
naturally to most people. Now think
about how you share information about
looking after your eyes. ABDO has been
looking for new ways to reach the
public and help them understand
eyecare and eyewear essentials.
can be used to display complex data
or information, however, we are simply
using the device as an attractive
‘wrapper’ for our information. In this
day and age, when people simply flit
from website to website and page to
page, we need to stop them and then
deliver the information they are
looking for. That’s what our family of
infographics does, in a fun and
interesting way.”
Since May this year, the EyecareFAQ
social media campaign has been
building momentum to help members
of the public learn how a visit to the
optician is key to looking after their
sight, as well as finding out more about
the role of the registered dispensing
optician. As part of the EyecareFAQ
programme of outreach, Antonia
Chitty has been developing
infographics covering key issues.
ABDO board member, Area 7 chair
and dispensing optician, Jo Holmes,
has been involved in creating the
content for each infographic. She
says: “Being in a busy practice, the
EyecareFAQ campaign has brought to
light subjects we wanted to write
about but never had the time to. I
imagine a lot of practices have ‘fact
sheets’ of a sort to hand out to patients.
Ours are old fashioned so the social
media campaign, and particularly the
infographics, has given us the chance
to modernise. I have also been looking
at them as a way of updating my talks
to schools. The infographic is really
modern looking, and an asset to be
able to link to our website.”
What’s an infographic?
An infographic is an illustrated way to
convey facts quickly and clearly. It is
designed to be shared on social
media, and its long, thin format is ideal
for browsing on mobile phones. Antonia
says: “We know that some people like
reading information, but others relate
better to images. With the infographics
we aim to pick out a small number of
key facts on different eye-related
topics and make them easy to view.”
Duncan Taylor-Jones, senior designer
at Shell-Clad, created the
infographics. He says: “Infographics
Help spread the word
A new EyecareFAQ infographic is
developed each month. The first four
infographics cover eyecare for children,
healthy eyes for adults, spectacle
lenses, and specs for driving. Next in
development are infographics about
choosing spectacle frames, looking
after your specs and sports eyewear.
Five ways to use an infographic
The EyecareFAQ infographics are available
for you to use on your own practice website
or blog, as well as your practice or personal
Facebook page. Why not:
1. Mention an infographic to patients if you
think it will help them
2. Embed one on your own practice website
or blog
3. Share one on your practice Facebook page
4. Tweet a link to an infographic on the
EyecareFAQ pages
5. Add them to your Pinterest, Instagram or
Tumblr pages
You can find them as they are shared on the
Now that these infographics are on the
ABDO website, any member of the
public can view them. Not everyone
will naturally land on the website,
however, so it is up to ABDO members
to help spread the word. It can be
hard to find good resources to add
social media accounts:
• www.facebook.com/eyecarefaq
• www.twitter.com/eyecarefaq
• Or search for EyecareFAQ on Google+
If you would like to copy them onto your
website or blog, you can find the
infographics and embed codes at
www.abdo.org.uk/information-for-thepublic/eyecarefaq
Remember to follow, like and share these
useful resources to help the public learn
about eyecare and eyewear and promote the
role of the registered dispensing optician. n
interest to your practice
website or social media.
The infographics are fun
to look at, and are only
branded with the
EyecareFAQ logo,
making them suitable to
add value to all sorts of
sites. If you have a
practice website or blog
you can add the
infographic. There is an
‘embed code’, which
you can copy and
paste, or ask your web
designer to do it.
post weekly on
Facebook and the
ABDO EyecareFAQ
campaign has given us
ideas to make our posts
as interesting as possible.
I’ve had several
comments from ‘friends’
on Facebook who are
not in optics. They are
liking the posts and
learning a little bit in a
low key kind of way,
and they feel our
Facebook page is really
worthwhile to follow.
If you use social media,
infographics come into
their own. You can share
the link to the infographic
on the ABDO website, or
your own website if you
have embedded it.
Alternatively, add the
infographic to your
Facebook page, or share
it on other practice social
media outlets.
Remember to ask your
followers to ‘retweet’ or
share the infographics to
help spread the word.
“I’m also finding
that, increasingly,
grandparents are
looking after their
grandchildren. They are
really grateful when I tell
them about child friendly
activities to do, obviously
related to eyes.”
Summing up, if you are
unsure about social
media, Jo says: “I'd really
recommend to make
use of EyecareFAQ
as all the hard work is
done for you. I feel it’s
giving the impression
of a professional,
knowledgeable, modern practice to
your computer surfing clients.” n
Jo Holmes explains how
her practice, Pilgrim Optical, uses the
online resources: “Our practice tries to
18
ABDO is strengthening its links with
optometry and optics in India through its
support of EIVOC 2015
Supporting
optics in India
E
stablished in August 2005, EIVOC is
India’s Elite School of Optometry’s
(ESO) international Vision Science and
Optometry Conference, held every
five years. The third edition will be
held from 14 to 16 August 2015 at the
Confluence, ECR Road, close to the
heritage centre, Mahabalipuram, and
a few miles from the famous tourist
destination of Pondicherry.
ESO is the first school of optometry
in India to offer a four-year BS
Optometry degree programme and
post-graduate programmes such as
M.Phil and a PhD in Optometry.
“We have striven to keep on a par
with international standards – not only
on the academic front but also in
clinical care and vision research,”
explained Dr R. Krishna Kumar, ESO
principal and EIVOC organising
chairperson.
In accordance with this aim, ESO hosts
EIVOC every five years as a platform to
bring together members of the Indian
optometry community and stalwarts in
the field of international vision science
and optometry, and to provide a
forum for learning, discussion and
progress. Held over three days, the
event is described as “a scientific feast
catering to every member of the
optometry fraternity”. It offers clinical
and research workshops, symposia,
plenary sessions, scientific presentations
and posters, and an industry exhibition.
The first EIVOC in 2005 was deemed a
great success with participation from
both national and international
delegates. The second EIVOC in 2010
witnessed almost double the
participation from 2005 and increased
scientific content. “Visionaries like
Professor Jay. M. Enoch, Professor
The EIVOC team with delegates at the 2010 conference
Dr S.S. Badrinath, chairman emeritus of
Sankara Nethralaya
Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan, Dr S.S.
Badrinath and eminent international
speakers like Dr Kenneth Ciuffreda, Dr
Sarita Soni, Dr Jim Sheedy, Dr Eli Peli and
many other clinical researchers
contributed to its success,” said Dr
Kumar. “With appreciation and learning,
we have moved on to preparations for
holding the third EIVOC in 2015.”
Broadening horizons globally
“The aim for EIVOC 2015 is to bring
vision science from different parts of
the country and the world, and
converge diverse knowledge to enrich
the minds of optometry students and
delegates,” said Dr Kumar. “We aim to
offer knowledge that will broaden
horizons and enable participants to
empower themselves with the skills
required to advance our profession to
world-class standards. The vision of
EIVOC is to give our participants an
ABDO overseas
added edge that would help them to
meet the visual needs of India’s
growing population.”
For the first time in 2015, EIVOC will
welcome a keynote speaker from
ABDO – Alicia Thompson, the
Association’s director of professional
examinations. Alicia said: “I am
honoured to have been asked to
speak at such a prestigious event, and
I am delighted that dispensing related
topics are being introduced into the
programme.” Bringing dispensing
optics to the programme too will be
Professor Mo Jalie of the University of
Ulster. The international favour of the
event continues with speakers from the
USA, Sweden, Netherlands and India
covering myriad topics in optometry
and optics.
Dr Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan,
who helped found ESO in 1985, Dr L.
Srinivasa Varadharajan, and Dr
Bhaskar Theagarajan will reflect on
underlying concepts behind and
beyond vision. Professor Shamanna,
Delegates viewing posters at EIVOC 2010
a public health expert, will discuss
social accountability and Dr S. Ve
Ramesh will reflect on the latest
innovations in optics. “With many more
contributions from optometry and
ophthalmology practitioners and
researchers from Sankara Nethralaya,
we envision the conference to be a
stupendous success,” enthused Dr
Kumar. There will also be posters,
workshops and a busy exhibition.
With 2015 being observed as the
International Light Year (IYL) by the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), EIVOC
will share its stage with the organisers
of the IYL to spread and enlighten the
message of light to the vision science
professionals in the country.
Find out more about EIVOC 2015 at
www.eso.sankaranethralaya.org n
Setting educational standards
Examiners from ABDO threw new light
on parameters and the potential
impact of a new collaborative course
at the Sankara Nethralaya (SN)
Academy in Chennai, India, during a
recent visit to the region.
Visitors from ABDO participated in the
first interactive session between the
inaugural cohort of students enrolled on
its new three and a half-year
Baccalaureate in Ophthalmic
Dispensing, established in collaboration
with ABDO.
The session was held on 22 September
in the presence of Mr A. Mahalingam,
assistant registrar, and Professor S.
Ramani, SN Academy principal. The
ABDO delegation was represented by
Mr T. Pavanakumar, ABDO chief
finance officer, Miranda Richardson,
assistant director of professional
examinations, and examiners Diane
Nash and Paul Schimell.
Welcoming students, parents and
faculty members, Dr Anuja R. Singh,
head of optometric education at the
academy, said: ”This is a first
programme of its kind in India in the
field of ophthalmic dispensing.” She
observed that the UK team of examiners
were very meticulous, and encouraged
the students to be similarly meticulous
with the help of ABDO. She added
that the SN Academy had created a
platform for creating world-class talent
in India and the students should make
use of it.
In his address, Mr Pavanakumar
pointed out that the statistics in India on
spectacle dispensing were very poor
and by pursuing this course the
dispensing standards could be
improved. Miranda Richardson gave a
detailed presentation about the course
and the way the exams are conducted.
The meeting concluded with a lively
session where parents and students
interacted with the UK examiners.
The new course will teach students to
read a prescription, then make and
dispense the frame. “There is no
regulation for opticians in this country
as in the case of doctors or nurses,”
said Dr Singh. “So anyone with a field
experience and without qualification
Miranda Richardson chats with students
can start an optical store. It can result in
inaccurate reading of prescriptions that
will reflect in the end-product.”
Visit the SN Academy website at
www.thesnacademy.ac.in n
Faculty members from both establishments
20
A new BCLA conference will focus on
future visionaries as well as past pioneers
in contact lenses
Contact lens
pioneers and visionaries
T
he Pioneers & Visionaries
Conference is a new, one-day
event organised by the British Contact
Lens Association (BCLA) that builds on
the past success of its annual Pioneers
Conference. Free for BCLA members to
attend, it takes place on Monday 17
November at the Royal College of
Physicians, London, from 11am to 7pm.
New and current thinking
Commenting on the launch of the
event, BCLA CEO, Cheryl Donnelly,
said: “We’re really excited about this
new, annual BCLA event for members.
We’ll be presenting current and new
thinking on key topics of relevance to
everyday contact lens practice – but
maintaining the lighthearted yet
thought-provoking atmosphere that
our members find so enjoyable.
“The 2014 Pioneers Lecture will be
delivered by Professor Harminder Dua,
and alongside this year’s fantastic lineup of speakers, we are pleased to
welcome a special guest from the
General Optical Council to update us
on the latest progress being made on
tackling illegal contact lens supply. We
do hope members will join us for what
promises to be a fabulous day of
learning, networking and enjoyment,”
Cheryl added.
Confirmed presenters so far include:
• Professor Harminder Dua, Pioneers
Lecturer: ‘The novel pre-Descemet’s
layer (Dua’s Layer): its discovery,
characterisation, clinical implications
and surgical applications’
• Dr Nicola Logan: ‘Myopia control;
where are we?’
• Sarah Farrant: ‘The Mighty Mites’
• Sophie Taylor-West: ‘Dispelling the
myths of specialist contact lens
practice’
• Dr Nicole Carnt: ‘An update on
contact lens compliance and a
review of current Acanthamoeba
research being carried out at
Moorfields’
• Matthew Carter: ‘An optometrist’s
view of keratoconus shared care’
• Alistair Bridge: ‘The GOC’s proposed
approach to tackling illegal practice:
an update’
practice. A total of five CET points
have been applied for – applicable
to both optometrists and CLOs.
Confirmed sponsors to date are:
Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, CooperVision,
David Thomas Contact Lenses,
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care
and Topcon.
Space is limited so early booking is
advisable. Book online in the Events
section of the BCLA website,
www.bcla.org.uk. Alternatively, email
conf@bcla.org.uk or telephone the
BCLA office on 020 7580 6661.
As well as an accompanying
exhibition, the conference will include
a networking lunch and evening
reception drinks – plus a quick fire
session from current researchers, the
‘visionaries’, on how their research
may impact on everyday contact lens
Non-BCLA members are invited to
attend the conference for a fee of
£250 – but if joining the BCLA no later
than one week after the event, the
Association will refund the difference
between the membership fee and
the event fee (a maximum of £90).
Full BCLA membership costs £160. n
2014 BCLA Pioneers Lecturer,
Professor Harminder Dua
Pioneers & Visionaries speaker, Dr Nicole Carnt
Sirus Plus
®
No need to move your
head every time you
want to see clearly!
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benefits of technology
www.bbgr.co.uk
Tel: 0844
880 1349
Always closer
22
Marc Karbaron reports on an upsurge of interest in
British talents at this year’s Silmo in Paris
Best of British
Visitors flooded in to this year’s Silmo in Paris
N
ever in all the (unspecified)
number of years that we have
been attending optical trade shows,
both in the UK and overseas, have my
practice manager Crozier Collinson
and I seen so many British stands so
busy as they were at this year’s Silmo
show in Paris. It was absolutely fantastic
to witness, and long may it continue.
Fashion Week and they have taken
inspiration from the vibe and street
chic, capturing the essence of the
Capital’s trendsetting spirit. The
campaign shots were taken over three
locations at ‘hipster hangouts’ in
London’s East End, all of which are
close to my roots, heart and current
business location.
There can be no doubt that at Silmo
2014, which took place from 25 to 28
September at the Paris Villepinte, British
enterprises entered a new era – standing
at the forefront of the optical market,
and creating a powerful portfolio of
both new and rejuvenated brands.
Strong individual designers producing
fabulous, high quality products with
directional styling drew us, and many
others, to their stands. In fact, visitor
numbers stood at a staggering 33,301
this year, 56 per cent of whom had
travelled in from overseas – despite a
strike by Air France pilots.
It was clear to see that the revitalised
Savile Row brand, now under the
guidance of Inspecs, has evolved for
the 21st century. The Algha Works
factory is still based in Bow, where it has
been since 1932, manufacturing truly
iconic eyewear, worn by millions in the
last century as ‘NHS glasses’, using
genuine 1930s machinery. New takes
on Savile Row styles were presented at
the show, incorporating filigree work on
the rolled gold sides and bridges, giving
an artisan feel to the frames.
Passion and pride
William Morris London has to be a
favourite for their sheer passion and
pride for competitively priced, great
British eyewear. The latest collection for
autumn/winter 2014 has been
designed in collaboration with London
Man on a mission, Marc Karbaron
And yes, rolled gold, not just gold plated,
which is a process of manufacturer
guaranteed to appeal to those
wanting a superior quality of product
with gold (shiny or matt), rhodium (shiny
or matt) and ruthenium finishes, some
with zylo or leather rims. Their original
designs were the inspiration for a large
number of world famous eyewear
designers (no names here, just in case)
and have been, and are still worn by,
celebrities including HM The Queen (we
could leave it there), Johnny Depp,
Daniel Radcliffe, Ralph Lauren, Ozzy
Osborne and, of course, John Lennon.
Jason and Karen Kirk were back with a
splash as Kirk & Kirk – a new name and
a totally new collection. After spending
some months as a consultant, it seems
the urge to produce his own range was
too great for Jason. After all, he has
such a long family tradition within
optics; his grandfather Sidney and
uncle Percy Kirk were pioneers of the
British eyewear industry, so without
doubt this news is going to create a
buzz. Jason has teamed up with his wife
Karen, to create frames with colour,
texture, style and detail. Each of their
frames in the Vivarium and Solarium
ranges are adorned with their signature
sterling silver or 9ct gold 3D décor, to
ensure a sophisticated, yet cool
finishing touch.
Mergers and acquisitions
Another noticeable theme seems to be
the growth in mergers and partnerships
between UK and international brands.
One in particular worth watching is that
between Claire Goldsmith Eyewear
William Morris London showcased its new A/W campaign
Silmo 2014
Handmade in London, Savile Row eyewear
Teaming up: Henrik Ørgreen and Claire Goldsmith
Spine tingling eyewear
and the innovative Danish brand,
Ørgreen. Claire Goldsmith is the great
granddaughter of P. Oliver Goldsmith,
who was one of the most influential
designers of UK eyewear, particularly at
a time when fashion began to be seen
and appreciated, as it became more
accessible to the emerging post-War
affluent society.
mention the other ‘Goldsmith’
presenting iconic eyewear at Silmo,
Oliver Goldsmith Spectacles. The two
brands have formed individual product
ranges, yet developed their origins from
the same family, dating back to the
1920s. Oliver, a charming gentleman
who I have known all my professional
life, still enthuses about his frame
designs both old and new as if they
were his children and grandchildren.
this reason, Oliver will write a personal
letter (nothing printed or emailed) to
the wearer explaining the heritage of
the spectacle frame and thanking
them for his appreciation of their
choice. Old fashioned British quality
and service, a true breath of fresh air –
and savvy marketing.
The directors of both businesses say
joining forces and pooling expertise will
not affect their brands’ individual
identities. Their intention is to remain
separate, but they will share
technology and areas of design, which
are unique to each company. It would
be interesting to see a luxury product
surface in line with Ørgreen’s bicolour
titanium products and Claire’s fabulous
fashion designs in sculpted acetate.
It would be unrealistic for me not to
His pride and enthusiasm for the
products that bear his family’s name
have been worn by royals and
celebrities past and present including
Princess Grace of Monaco, the Duke of
Windsor, Michael Caine, Peter Sellers
and Audrey Hepburn, to name a few.
Oliver Goldsmith frames aren’t just
bought by opticians and sold to clients
without a feel for the brand’s history. For
Silmo d’Or for new category entrant
Bollé entered the junior protective and
prescription sector with a fanfare when its
Bollé Sport Protective programme won a
Silmo d’Or at the recent Paris show.
Sponsored by the international basketball
superstar, Tony Parker, the Bollé Sport
Protective programme provides children
with glasses offering “superior optical
quality of lenses, platinum anti-scratch and
Tony Parker takes a selfie on the Bollé stand
anti-fog coating, high frontal impact
resistance, protection against side impacts,
and with a 100 per cent UVA and UVB filter”. The glasses conform to EN 166 and ASTMF 803
standards with or without prescription.
Speaking at the official launch at Silmo, Parker said: “I have been working with Bollé for several
years now in total confidence, and it was natural for me to support this programme. I have a lot
of contact with young people and awareness raising about eye protection is really important. I
am truly happy and proud to put my name to this new range, now recognised by top
professionals from the optical world with this fine Silmo d’Or award.”
Alexandre Brachet, Global Bollé Sport Protective product and marketing manager: “Our teams
have been working on this for almost two years, to develop this unique programme. Getting
the Silmo d’Or in the sports category is a real achievement for all those involved in the project
and clearly demonstrates the profession’s determination to prioritise protection in sport.” n
It’s always nice to see old friends,
especially when they are exhibiting
beautiful eyewear. Coppe+Sid have
beautifully crafted eyewear in luxuriant
colours, all finished with the brand’s
signature sliver of genuine Lapis Lazuli
inserted in the temples. A British company
with an international pedigree.
Mondottica, an international company
with British blood in its veins, launched its
new innovative frame and sunglasses
range – Spine, ‘eyewear with
backbone’. Incorporating patented
hinge technology, designed and refined
over several years, the product utilises
intelligent engineering to give frames
face form flexibility. Inspired by the
interaction between the vertebrae (I
think the name may be a give away) this
new design of multi-directional flexible
joint offers an ultra comfortable occipital
fit with smooth, progressive folding screw
free sides. Spine tingling eyewear…
With limited time due to two days of
back-to-back appointments, it was
impossible to review all the British based
exhibitors, but others presenting their
fabulous goods included Booth & Bruce
England, Jai Kudo, Linda Farrow,
Continental Eyewear, Cutler & Gross,
Victoria Beckham, Yoji Yamamoto,
Optoplast Actman Eyewear and
Zuma London.
Looking to the future? It’s still in its
infancy, but watch out for 3D printed
eyewear as possibly the next big
spectacle. In conclusion, for an
international eyewear show in Paris –
vive les Anglais! n
24
John Pike reports on the
2014 Essilor University
and College Symposium
Essilor staff with delegates at its 2014 University and College Symposium
Debate
and education in Bath
I
was fortunate enough to be invited to
attend Essilor’s 20th anniversary
University and College Symposium,
which took place on 11 and 12
September at Bailbrook House in Bath.
These symposia are always educational,
informative and thoroughly enjoyable –
and this year’s event was no exception.
The speakers included faces old and
new, who delivered lectures on a
variety of topics in their own unique
way. Dr Colin Fowler continued his
series entitled, ‘What’s in Colin’s
garage?’ – treating the audience to a
slideshow of his home made optical
devices including a fundus camera
and a pair of blended lenticulars. Any
Blue Peter presenter would have been
very impressed at his ingenuity and
patience in fashioning these instruments
from everyday objects, with the possible
exception of plastic detergent bottles.
Professor Ed Mallen outlined the
principles of adaptive optics, which
involves taking aberration patterns and
correcting them for the human eye in
order to improve vision. Adaptive optics
has its origins in astronomy, where
turbulence in the Earth’s atmosphere
causes images of stars to twinkle when
viewed through terrestrial telescopes. If
these aberrations can be detected
and corrected instantaneously, a
clearer image will result. Ophthalmic
applications include pre- and postoperative refractive surgery, anterior
and posterior eye imaging, and the
improvement in resolution of OCT images.
Lens and practice evolution
The symposium also included a
discussion about the evolution of
progressive lenses, which Professor Mo
Jalie felt was important for optometry
and dispensing optician students to
understand, in order to realise just how
much progress has been made in the
last 50 years. For those who, like myself,
are not involved in education, a further
discussion provoked thoughts about
what advice to give patients on
collection of their new progressive
lenses. It was heartening to discover
that even well respected academics,
when working in practice, had their
share of non-tolerance cases and very
difficult patients.
that there are other avenues of
practice open to them. It was felt that
a portal for independent practice
should be formed, to give students
guidance on the essentials of
establishing or purchasing their own
optical practice. Other presentation
topics included how well we measure
optical frames, what advice to give
patients upon PAL collection, and
changes in the lens market. There was
also the chance for peer group
discussion and an update on college
and university courses.
It was suggested that more support
and advice could be given to
undergraduates who were considering
going into independent practice, either
as a pre-reg or after registration. The
general feeling amongst delegates was
that the multiple sector was very well
represented as a potential mode of
practice, and information about
entering the world of corporate optics
was readily available.
The symposium included a trip to
the Allium Brasserie in Bath, where
delegates enjoyed a superb meal and
the distinguished company of Jacques
Desallais, who appears happy and
relaxed in his well-earned retirement
from Essilor. As a platform for academic
excellence, intra-professional debate
and the promotion of all that is
revolutionary within optics, the annual
Esslior symposium has few equals and I
look forward to the next event.
However, it would be a great
advantage for students to be shown
John Pike FBDO runs his own practice in
Shirley, Solihull. n
From left, Dr Julie-Anne Little, Professor Mo Jalie, Amanda Flemming and John McGann
Stepper UK
Eyewear Fashion That Fits
Stephen wears frame style Si 60014
For more information call 01732 375975
26
Cycling superstar Mark Cavendish launches two
new Oakley frames
Manx Missile
marks milestone
‘Oakley athlete’ Mark Cavendish
T
he Manx Missile – aka pro cyclist
and former World Road Race
Champion Mark Cavendish MBE –
dropped into Vision Express’ flagship
store in Oxford Street, London, recently
to launch two new innovative
prescription frames for Oakley – the
Crosslink Pitch and Milestone.
CEO. “We engineered the perfect
frame for people with busy, active lives
by creating interchangeable temples
that offer freedom possibility and the
promise of convenience with the
power to adapt. Crossover Pitch makes
an art of purposeful design by taking
functionality to a whole new level.”
Having worn spectacles since he was
14 years old, the ‘Oakley athlete’ is no
stranger to the performance eyewear
category. Speaking to guests at the
launch, Cavendish was keen to
emphasise the “incredible” engineering
technology of the Milestone frame –
heralded as the thinnest, lightest and
strongest Nanomatter Oakley frame
now available, exclusive to Vision Express.
The Crosslink Pitch features skyscraper
inspired temples and, for Cavendish,
the satisfying ‘click’ you hear when
changing the sides is “the icing on
the cake”.
The ultra-thin Nanomatter frame is 67
per cent thinner and three and a half
times stronger than acetate, and is
described as the perfect
demonstration of how the brand
“continually seeks out problems,
solving them with inventions and
wrapping those inventions in art”.
The Crosslink collection is the newest
addition to Oakley prescription
eyewear category and combines
functionality with leading edge design,
offering versatile adaptability and
customisation via interchangeable
temples. Combined with Oakley
engineering and performance
innovation to add durability
and originality to active lifestyles,
Crosslink Pitch is described as “a true
crossover design”.
“This proud new addition to our
Crosslink collection disrupts the world’s
notion of what prescription eyewear
can do,” said Colin Baden, Oakley
Dispensing opportunities
Speaking to Dispensing Optics at the
launch about the new Milestone
frame, Vision Express category
manager for ophthalmic lenses,
dispensing optician, Mark Harris, said:
“The technology behind the Milestone
is incredible – and from the dispensing
optician’s perspective, the collections
provide a fantastic opportunity to fit a
wide range of patients in all lens types,
including progressive lenses.”
means that when the wearer perspires,
the frame actually increases its grip
rather than loosens it. They are the
lightest frames Oakley has ever made,
weighing just 9g – and are almost as
light as a rimless frame.
“As a dispensing optician I come
across so many products with
marketing spin, but Oakley has always
had science and technology at its
heart – and this is what makes the
eyewear so functional, wearable and
versatile,” Mark added. “The Oakley
customer is educated and
knowledgeable about the product
and that’s why we have Oakley
specialists in our stores.”
The use of Oakley’s Unobtanium nose
pads and earsocks in the Milestone
Speaking after the launch, Neil
McGowan, Vision Express operations
director, said: “It was fantastic to
welcome Mark Cavendish to our
flagship store to mark the launch of
Oakley’s new prescription eyewear
collection. Our customers love Oakley;
we’ve stocked some of Oakley’s
most iconic frames over the past 16
years and it remains among our bestselling brands.” n
Neil McGowan of Vision Express introduces the
Manx Missile
The new Oakley Milestone
abdo
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Due to changing demographics the demand for specialist low vision services is steadily increasing.
By enhancing your low vision skills you can greatly help others, which is both valuable and extremely
rewarding. The Low Vision Honours Course includes the theory and practical aspects of low vision
consultation and fully prepares candidates for the ABDO Level 6 FBDO (Hons) LVA examinations.
Distance learning assignments are complemented by a short block release at ABDO College to
reinforce practical skills and routine.
• Course commences: January 2015
• Method: Blended learning
• Entry requirements: ABDO Level 6 Fellowship Diploma in Ophthalmic Dispensing (FBDO)
and GOC registration
• Duration: 25 weeks
• Block release accommodation can be provided
Application deadline: December 2014
For further information and application forms for these and other courses, or to request a copy
of the ABDO College Prospectus, please contact the ABDO College Courses Team on 01227 738 829 (Option 1)
or email info@abdocollege.org.uk
ABDO College Operational Services, Godmersham Park, Godmersham, Canterbury, Kent CT4 7DT
www.abdocollege.org.uk
www.twitter.com/abdocollege
KEEPING EXCELLENCE IN YOUR SIGHTS
28
Area 4 sponsors and committee members
Keith Cavaye discusses contact
lenses and the law
Peter Black is introduced to
delegates
them to any DOs who have
not yet attended”.
Comments received
following the event
included: “Just wanted to
say thank you and
congratulations for another
brilliant event. We'll look
forward to Derby in March”;
and “Brilliant talks, amazing
atmosphere, organised to
perfection again by a
brilliant team”.
Area news
Area 4 (East Anglia): Mixing
it up in Stansted
Report by Kate Clarke,
chairman
Area 4 held a very
successful CET day with
18 points on offer at the
Radisson Blu Hotel,
Stansted, on Sunday 28
September. The day
consisted of a mix of
workshops, lectures and
discussion groups, as well
as a quiz, and sponsors
table displays to visit. We
also were able to give
members a subsidised hot
buffet lunch and continuous
refreshments during the
day due to the generosity
of our sponsors.
A raffle, which raised £250
for Fight for Sight, was held
with prizes donated by our
sponsors and committee
members. These ranged
from a camera to a
shopping bag and
included various bottles of
wine. Our thanks go to all
those who helped put on
this day, especially the
sponsors, Nikon, Safilo,
Pro Design, OWP, Marchon,
Shamir, UltraVision, Orange,
the BCLA and William
Morris London.
Area 5 (Midlands):
Report by Ian Hardwick,
vice chairman
ABDO president, Peter
Black, joined Area 5 for its
latest CET day held on
Monday 29 September at
the Manor Hotel, Meriden,
near Solihull. Some 150
delegates were welcomed
by area chairman, Clive
Marchant, who ahead of
proceedings also thanked
the event’s exhibitors and
sponsors: Nikon, Orasis,
Mainline, Eyespace, Optical
Service, William Morris
London, Silhouette,
Marchon, Shamir and
Younger Optics.
The morning session
featured three
presentations beginning
with Barry Duncan, ABDO
members’ support
manager, with his
paediatric spectacle
dispensing discussion
workshop, worth three CET
points. Next came CLO,
Wendy Sethi, with her talk:
‘Spacemen and Llamas’
worth one CET point and to
end the morning, Peter
Black discussed anterior
eye disorders and
management, also worth
three CET points.
During a morning break I
spoke with delegate John
Pike, who said: “The Area 5
CET events are a great
opportunity to meet up
with fellow professionals
and enjoy an educational
and informative day.
Speakers are excellent,
venues are convenient and
most importantly the events
are incredible value for
money. I fully commend
After lunch, Chris Hurst,
business manager for
Shamir Optical was first up
with his one CET point talk,
‘Freeform technology: the
sports vision revolution’. He
was followed by Angela
McNamee, CLO,
optometrist and educator,
with her presentation:
‘Don’t forget the
conjunctiva’, also worth
one CET point. The day
finished with Keith Cavaye,
CLO, educator and
chairman of the ABDO CET
Committee, with his one
CET point lecture: ‘Being
legal with contact lenses’.
During the afternoon
interval, I caught up with
Lisa Laurent, territory
manager of William Morris
London, who was attending
her fourth Area 5 CET day.
She said: “I believe CET
events are the perfect
opportunity for us to meet
our valued partners and
friends. It allows us to do
what we do best, which is
providing conservatively
different eyewear for the
independent optician.”
From registration and then
throughout the day we ran
a poster quiz worth two CET
points; some 15 delegates
also took part in a CLO
peer discussion session
worth three CET points.
Our next CET day is on
Monday 2 March 2015 at
the Riverside Centre, Derby,
and already 70 places are
booked. There is space for
200 delegates so please
email me at
ianh.abdoarea5@gmail.com
to reserve a place.
Area 12 (Scotland): Ceilidh
at the Castle
Report by Fiona Anderson,
chairman
Area 12 held its annual
’bash’ – or ‘shindig’ as we
call it – on Saturday 20
September at the stunning
venue that is Edinburgh
Castle. The weather didn’t
look too promising at 8am
when we couldn’t see the
other side of the road for
fog, but we ended up with a
dry, warmish evening to
enjoy the views over the
city from the ramparts,
before we were Piped and
Drummed into the castle to
a drinks reception and a
two-course buffet.
The evening got underway
with dancing and then a
Area news
Area 12 prepares to party at Edinburgh Castle
short time was set aside for
me, as chairman, to thank
our guests for joining us,
our sponsors for supporting
us and helping to make
the night extra special for
two members whom we
were honouring.
The first member to be
honoured was Arthur
Clelland, a stalwart of Area
12 who has diligently turned
up to meetings, CET events
and national conferences
for more years than either
of us cared to remember.
Arthur had no idea this was
happening and weeks of
plotting behind his back
enabled several of his work
colleagues to be with him
on the night – most notably
his son Gary and daughter
Laura who are both DOs in
the family firm.
The second member to be
honoured was ABDO’s own
Barry Duncan. Barry has
embraced his role as
members’ support manager
with great energy; he
always gives 100 per cent
but we know in Scotland –
his home ABDO Area – he
gives 102 per cent! Area 12
secretary, Brenda Rennie,
and I wanted to say a
huge thank you to Barry for
the help he has given the
Area over the years – and
to us personally.
After a very brief few words
from ABDO president, Peter
Black, the dancing
Peter Black congratulates
Arthur Clelland
A special honour for ABDO’s
Barry Duncan
continued into the night.
Our friends from south of the
border were treated to a
Scottish Ceilidh and I’m sure
many still have the bruises
to prove it. The Ceilidh was
the brainchild of David
Chalmers, MD of Silhouette
UK and Ireland and himself
a native Scot. Silhouette
was our main sponsor for
the event – nicely tying in
with them celebrating 50
years of Excellence in
Optics.
was also an exhibition from
many of our frame, lens and
contact lens suppliers.
The following day, for those
whose heads were not too
sore, there was a full day of
CET with up to 14 CET points
available. A mixture of
lectures and workshops
were on offer and there
My thanks go to all our
sponsors, without whom
these events would just not
happen, our colleagues
from Optometry Scotland,
NES Optometry, Glasgow
Caledonian University –
and to those from ABDO
who helped out at the
event. Also, to our members
for supporting this and all
our other events, our
speakers and workshop
facilitators and last but by
no means least, Barry and
Brenda for all that they do
for the Area to make it the
success that it is. n
Sneak preview at Chimmm for Google Glass
Following its launch at Vision Expo West Las Vegas in September, exclusive
distributor Waterside Labs gave European customers a preview of the
Chimmm for Google Glass 2015 frame and sunglass collection at
Silmo 2014.
Silmo visitors discover smart frames
Bob Forgan, Waterside Labs and Vision Technologies Europe managing
director, said: “The launch of our new Chimmm for Google Glass 2015
frame and sunglass collection by the innovative Hong Kong fashion
designer Simon Chim attracted a great deal of attention in Paris as it
showed the importance of combining technology with fashion.”
Waterside showcased an exclusive range of products including its Smart frames for Google Glass and Smart Gold lens
design (see September issue of Dispensing Optics). “The interest in all our Smart Glass products during Silmo was amazing,”
said Bob. “This is a rapidly developing product area that everyone really wants to know about.” Chimmm for Google
Glass collection will be available from early 2015. n
30
Peter Black
Black arts
Everywhere I go these days,
people are worried about
kids. From rich and famous
sexual predators, priests
and care workers to,
perhaps worst of all, the
failure of police to take
accusations seriously, child
abuse is very definitely in
the news. And, of course,
these are not the only
concerns I hear about
children.
In recent weeks, I have
presented workshops and
sat in the audience at
several CET events where
children’s eyecare has
been the main topic of
discussion – and the more I
listen to the experiences of
our members, the more
disturbed I get. And the
more disturbed I get, the
more I am sure it is time for
paediatric dispensing to be
fully re-regulated.
Is amblyopia child abuse or
just neglect?
I’ve long since given up on
the re-regulation of all
ophthalmic dispensing but I
believe it is now time for
children, and for that matter
vulnerable adults, to be
afforded the protection
they deserve. We have had
25 years of supervised
paediatric dispensing and it
is now time to place
paediatric dispensing in the
same category as sight
testing and the fitting of
contact lenses, ie. that
regulated dispensing, in
common with all other
regulated functions, only be
carried out by a registrant
or a student optician under
close supervision.
“Where’s your evidence?” I
hear my critics cry, and to
them I would answer: “All
around you. Are you
blind?” Spend a little time at
any school and you can
see for yourself the
appalling state of at least
half of the paediatric
dispensing in this country. I
suppose we could conduct
an experiment where we
take one group of kids who
are in need of glasses and
give them nothing, give
another group all the
orthoptic treatment they
require, and then treat a
third group who are then
prevented from wearing
their glasses as they should
by their parents, teachers
and sports coaches.
We’d struggle to get such
an experiment past an
ethics committee, but if we
did, we’d expect groups
one and three to have poor
binocular vision and/or be
amblyopic in one eye.
Evidence or
common sense?
But we have been conducting
just such an experiment now
for at least 25 years, and
the results are plain to see.
Hundreds of thousands of
British people are amblyopic,
and mostly this could have
been prevented. A lazy eye
does not just mean slightly
worse vision than the other
eye, it usually means the
eyes fail to function
properly as a pair and the
patient suffers problems
with depth perception and
judgement of distance
and speed.
Many amblyopes are
unable to catch a ball and
cannot participate fully in
activities where hand-eye
coordination is required.
Many will have visual
acuities outside the limit for
certain occupational
requirements. This is not
now as it used to be, where
they might be precluded
from being a pilot or
entering the armed forces,
but with increased
occupational standards this
might now rightly prevent
them doing such
mainstream jobs as driving
a lorry, train, bus or taxi.
It is a known statistic that
amblyopes are at greater
risk of blindness than the
general population, since
they don’t have a spare eye
and Murphy’s Law (what can
go wrong, will go wrong)
dictates that if an amblyope
is going to get diabetic
retinopathy, or receive a
sight-threatening trauma, it
will be the ‘good’ eye that is
affected. So while we wait
for paediatric dispensing to
be properly re-regulated,
and vulnerable adults to be
brought into the fold, what
can we do in the meantime?
Orthoptics treatment plan:
a DO’s responsibility
Daryl Newsome and Debbie
Anderson of Plymouth
Hospital at ABDO’s Newbury
event advocated ensuring
that children are not allowed
to collect glasses unless
they fit perfectly and are fit
for purpose. They educate
parents to understand what
a perfect fit looks like, and
encourage them to bring
their child in for regular
checks on the fit of their
frame and readjustment as
necessary if they notice the
fit deviating from perfection.
They asked us to consider
paediatric dispensing of
hospital prescriptions not as
merely dispensing but as the
fulfilment of the orthoptics
treatment plan for that
Black arts
patient. Anita Simmers,
Professor of Orthoptics at
Glasgow Caledonian
University, and Susan Bowers,
president of the British
Contact Lens Association
(BCLA), both advocate that
amblyopia can be treated
well beyond the generally
accepted critical period of
visual development at
aged seven or eight; and
actually visual acuity can be
improved if full correction is
provided for the amblyopic
eye through teenage years
and into adulthood.
In her recent BCLA
Presidential Address in
London, Susan Bowers
gave an impassioned plea
to help children of any age
who don’t like wearing
glasses, find them
inconvenient for their
lifestyles, or are bullied at
school, by recommending
contact lenses. Her talk
described the remarkable
clinical outcomes for 10
amblyopic children when
fitted with contact lenses.
What was perhaps most
remarkable was how
quickly patients regressed
into amblyopia once the
stimulus of clear vision was
removed following
temporary cessation of
optical correction.
Interested in school
vision screening?
At our recent Edinburgh
CET event, Professor
Simmers outlined the ease
with which binocular vision
anomalies and amblyopia
in children can be
detected. Given the
postcode lottery of school
vision screening, this makes
me more inclined than ever
to believe that school vision
screening is an area that
dispensing opticians will
move into over the next
five to 10 years as the
General Optical Council
(GOC) gets to grips with its
standards review and
determines the scope of
practice that is needed for
the protection of patients
and the public in the future.
which had one overriding
factor in common: they did
not employ dispensing
opticians but instead relied
on optometrists to
(inadequately) supervise
optical assistants.
A protracted discussion
between Professor Simmers
and her audience revealed
a fundamental issue
between the orthoptics/
hospital eye department
and community opticians.
It appears orthoptists don’t
know too much about
dispensing, even if they
are refracting children
themselves. But equally,
Professor Simmers was
horrified to learn that
dispensing opticians are in
the dark when they receive
a prescription from the
hospital as we rarely receive
the additional information
(BVD, VAs, optical condition,
treatment plan, wearing
advice, etc) that is so
important to effective
ophthalmic dispensing.
Not wanting to go to war
with our optometrist friends,
we have resolved to
provide them, as well as our
own members, with
paediatric dispensing CET
to improve standards across
the piece. We are also
working hard with
employers to ensure they
are able to train the number
of dispensing opticians they
need. To this end, we are
approaching the GOC to
increase the maximum
number of students who
can be trained at ABDO
College for the second time
in recent years as intakes
yet again break all records.
Slating the competition
At many paediatric CET
events, there is often a
strong anti-multiple
undercurrent with
independent practitioners
openly criticising
supermarkets and multiples
for poor supervision of
paediatric dispensing. I’m
inclined to say that people
in glasshouses shouldn’t
throw stones, and certainly
there is no independent vs.
multiple divide in this regard.
When my predecessor,
Jennifer Brower, called for
evidence of illegal
regulated dispensing we
didn’t get the details of
internet sites and
unregistered sellers, we
generally got information
on registered practices
(independent and multiple)
It is now recognised that in
the same way you cannot
collect your medicine from
the pharmacist unless they
are on the premises and
able to intervene, regulated
dispensing, including
collections and adjustments,
must be carried out in the
same way.
Lazy Eye Lawyers R Us
To supervisors who
delegate regulated
dispensing, I would say this:
are you confident that your
non-registered colleague
can not only adjust the
spectacles perfectly – but
that they understand
amblyopia and can
provide the correct wearing
advice (ie. constant wear),
and advice to parents on
how to check for a perfect
fit, when to return
for adjustments, and the
long-term life changing
negative impact that nonconcordance with the
amblyopia treatment plan
will have?
My friend Lucy Lazy Eye
was really disappointed,
having set her heart on
being a fighter pilot, that
amblyopia prevented her
pursuing the career of her
dreams. All was not lost and
now, aged 23, she is a
qualified lawyer – and
understanding that ‘where
there is a blame there is
a claim’, she is pursuing
those responsible for her
visual disability.
Proving beyond reasonable
doubt that her parents
didn’t get the advice they
needed, and that she
wasn’t dispensed properly,
shouldn’t be too difficult.
How many practices have
kept their paediatric records
for at least seven years past
the child’s 18th birthday as
they should have done?
Even if the records have
been retained, do they
show who carried out that
particular paediatric
dispense and what
dispensing advice was
given? If the dispenser was
not registered, does the
record show who supervised
her and what training they
had been given?
As the professional expert
witnesses start forming an
orderly queue outside the
GOC, perhaps you should
ask yourself how your
practice would fair if Lucy
had been your patient 15
years ago. Alternatively, step
forward 10 or 20 years, when
something similar to Lazy Eye
Lawyers R Us will be a reality.
How would your current
record keeping and
standard operating
procedures for regulated
dispensing stand up in court?
Peter Black n
32
Fiona Anderson receives the VP
medal of office from Peter Black
Kevin Gutsell with Malcolm Polley
ABDO elects new vice president as
Kevin Gutsell takes up FMO role
Area 12 chairman and
current ABDO board
member, Fiona Anderson,
has been elected as
the Association’s new
vice president.
The move to elect a new
vice president follows the
resignation last month of
Kevin Gutsell to take
over from Malcolm Polley
as chief executive of
the Federation of
Manufacturing Opticians
(FMO).
Speaking to Dispensing
Optics about his change of
direction, Kevin said: “Back
in October 2009 it was
announced that I was
joining the ABDO board, as
voted in by the members.
Since then, and together
with three presidents and
various board members, we
have continued to protect,
progress and represent
dispensing opticians at all
levels – and I feel we can
be proud of the work that
continues to be done by
the association.
even more important to
have the FMO as ‘the voice
of the optical industry’.”
“On becoming the new
chief executive of the FMO,
I have relinquished both the
position of vice president
together with my place on
the ABDO board. I wish
them, and my successor as
vice president Fiona
Anderson, all the best in
their deliberations and
direction for the future.”
Kevin, who was also interim
head of operations at
ABDO College, will remain
as a College trustee. The
newly appointed head
of operations is Jill Kemp,
a qualified dispensing
optician who joins
the College from Boots
Opticians.
Discussing his new role as
FMO chief executive, Kevin
said: “As CE of the FMO, it is
my intention in an everchanging market to ensure
that its members are fully
represented and supported
in the UK and internationally
– and that as an
organisation we are a big
and important part of
decisions affecting the
sector going forward. In this
ever changing optical
landscape, it has become
Of her appointment as
ABDO vice president, Fiona
said: “I’m honoured to have
been elected not only to
the board, but now to serve
as vice president. To carry
on into the president’s role
will be the pinnacle of my
career as a DO. I will serve
our members to the best of
my ability and continue to
raise awareness of who we
are and what we do.“
Commenting on the
retirement of Malcolm
Polley, FMO chairman, Barry
Dibble, said: “It will be
difficult to fill Malcolm’s
shoes and match his unique
insight into so many aspects
of the optical industry and
profession. He has been the
face of the FMO and
Optrafair and provided
unrivalled continuity for so
many valuable years of
growth for the sector.
However, the FMO board is
delighted that he will
continue in the important
role as director of Optrafair,
the show which is now an
annual event.
“Kevin has extensive
experience in the industry
and profession and is well
equipped to lead the
FMO to new heights. His
connections and time
at ABDO will ensure that
the FMO plays a vital role
within the increasingly
significant alliance of the
Optical Confederation,”
added Barry. n
Barbour prize in the bag
A pair of Barbour frames with lenses
was presented to Fiona King from
Southampton following a customer
competition for Vision Express
customers via direct email and online.
The prize also included a trip to the
South Shields Barbour factory for a
tour plus a Barbour jacket worth £300.
Our photograph shows Fiona with,
from left, David Godrey of Barbour,
Jenny Wood of Vision Express, and
Mark Truss of the Norville Group, which
distributes Barbour frames in the UK. n
Fiona King with her swag
FRAME: Barbour International 008 c1 black
Ophthalmic and sunwear frame ranges exclusively from Norville Eyewear
The Norville Group, Magdala Road, Gloucester GL1 4DG
Tel: 01452 510321 • Fax: 01452 510331 • Email: sales@norville.co.uk
www.norville.co.uk
34
The Mette ‘Maker carousel’ (courtesy of Graham Morgan)
Rodenstock Impression FreeSign 3
London show promises to be
‘bigger and better’
Media 10 has announced
that next year’s 100%
Optical event will be 30 per
cent bigger than this year’s
inaugural show.
Taking place at London’s
ExCel from 7-9 March, 100%
Optical 2015 will offer
expanded equipment and
lens halls, back-to-back
fashion shows, a full
schedule of seminars
organised by the
Association of Optometrists
(AOP), and more CET points.
As reported in last month’s
issue, ABDO will be providing
added benefits for
dispensing opticians visiting
the show, including
advance notice and priority
access to social events and
the ABDO Arms, a new bar
area where members can
network and socialise.
ABDO, the AOP and 100%
will also be running a Frame
Workshop where members
can make frames, see how
frames are produced and
learn more about the
processes involved. Algha
Works, the UK’s last frame
maker, will showcase their
skills and techniques.
The workshop will also
feature 3D printing so that
visitors can have a go at
designing and printing
frames and see how it may
be used in practice in the
future. 100% Optical will be
working with London based
designers Mette, who have
created a ‘Maker carousel’
concept, a space that can
allow several groups to be
engaged in making frames
with different materials on
the show floor.
Michael Potter, ABDO
head of marketing and
communications, said: “We
are confident that ABDO
members will benefit
from the Association’s
partnership with 100%
Optical, which will provide
members with priority
access and unique
incentives to attend this
innovative exhibition, an
opportunity to refresh and
enhance their skills, find out
what’s new, network with
their fellow professionals,
have fun, as well as
gain CET points while they
are there.
“Not least, 100% Optical is
hosted at a major London
venue that’s within a relatively
easy travelling distance for a
significant percentage of our
members. The partnership
with 100% Optical is one of a
number of exciting initiatives
that ABDO has planned for
2015 with a view to attaining
greater engagement with its
members. It will also provide
a new platform for ABDO to
voice its aims and to outline
the vital role it plays within
the optical sector,” Michael
added.
Read the latest show news
at www.100percentoptical.
com n
Third generation progressive unveiled
The result of five years of research and
development, Rodenstock’s newly
unveiled Impression FreeSign 3 is said
to provide unrestricted clear vision,
maximum image stability, and
minimum distortion.
“This innovative new lens takes
progressive spectacle wearers into
a new dimension,” said Rodenstock’s
lens product manager, Debbie
Bathgate. “And thanks to
Rodenstock’s patented Flexible
Design Technology, we’ve made it
really easy for opticians to perfectly
adapt the Impression FreeSign 3 to the
personal requirements of even their
most demanding customer.
“Swimming effects that are typical of
a progressive lens are finally a thing of
the past and the peripheral
aberrations can be positioned in such
a way that the customer will hardly
know they are wearing spectacles.
We’ve also managed to combine best
vision with best looks, with lenses that
are incredibly thin and aesthetically
pleasing,” added Debbie.
In addition to the Individual design
option, Impression FreeSign 3 comes
in three design types to suit different
lifestyles: Active, Allround and Expert.
With the FreeSign 3 Consulting
module in Rodenstock Consulting,
opticians can offer customers an
interactive experience where the
wearer specifies their vision
requirements based on images
onscreen. The Virtual Consulting App
allows opticians to simulate the view
through the lens, while Rodenstock’s
new EyeConsulting+ 2.0 app can
determine a patient’s refraction
values with different tests, paying
special attention to far and near
refraction.
Call 01474 325555 or visit
www.rodenstock.co.uk n
36
will.i.am’s new ill.i Optics collection
Dean Alldis with Lucy
From Black Eyed Peas to
eyewear
5,500-mile cycle for
children with eye cancer
News that entrepreneur,
musician and glasses
connoisseur will.i.am has
collaborated with LA
designer, George Gorrow, to
create his own collection of
eyewear – ill.i Optics – will
no doubt be music to his
fans’ ears.
A Vision Express employee
has completed an epic 10month 5,500-mile cycle
challenge to help children
with eye cancer.
The sunglasses and optical
styles for men and women
pay homage to the
evolution of eyewear,
drawing inspiration from rare
vintage shapes.
Key influences include the
eponymous frame choices
of 1980s hip hop pioneers
and the oversized glasses
worn by graffiti characters
of the decade; as well as
memorable moments from
will.i.am’s early career.
The Black Eyed Peas rapper
said: “I see a gap in the
world of eyewear and this is
my installment of what I feel
is missing. I want this to be
an honest brand – it’s about
dedication and passion.”
The collection is produced
in Italy and distributed
exclusively by Allison, and
the launch campaign
features a soundtrack
created by the musician. n
NEG offers more CET
CooperVision will be running a poster trail at this month’s
National Eyecare Group (NEG) Building for Success
conference, so there will now be a total of nine CET points
available for both optometrists and dispensing opticians.
Themed ‘Building a better patient experience’, the NEG
Conference takes place on 16 and 17 November at the
East Midlands Conference Centre in Nottingham. It is free
for NEG members and £55 (+VAT) for non-members, and
features a full exhibition. www.nationaleyecare.co.uk n
Norville’s Blick Junior goggle
Dean Alldis, 48, from
Nottingham, a management
development consultant for
Vision Express, rallied a
team of nine riders within the
company to take part in a
sponsored cycle challenge
to raise £5,500 for the
Childhood Eye Cancer Trust
(CHECT). Dean then went
one huge step further and
challenged himself to ride a
mile for every £1 of the
team’s target – the
equivalent of riding from
John O’Groats to Lands’ End
more than six times. Dean is
pictured with two-year-old
Lucy Rodriguez from Dorset,
who is a survivor of
retinoblastoma. n
Options for glazeable goggle
Norville’s new Blick Junior
glazeable swimming goggle
for children offers three
bridge options, broadening
its age appeal from five
years to 12 years of age.
The standard range within
the sports Rx catalogue will
be +4.00 to-8.00 with
opposite cyls to 4.00,
however, the company says
it will be happy to glaze
higher prescriptions,
including lenticular, as
required. The lens edge is
sealed with a silicone ‘o’
ring to stop leakage and
complements the Blick
Adult range. For stock
samples telephone 01452
510321. n
New CL material addresses comfort
Bausch + Lomb has launched a new
material called Hypergel, developed
to combat the drop-out rate of
contact lens wearers. According to
contact lens optician, Wendy Sethi,
who is also Bausch + Lomb
professional services consultant, the
material addresses many of the issues
relating to comfort.
Hypergel is now being used in the
Biotrue ONEday contact lens family in a
move away from silicone. Wendy said:
“The lens has oxygen transmissibility of
93 per cent, higher than any other nonsilicone hydrogel lenses, and is hugely
comfortable to wear. Water stays within
the lens due to the inherent
characteristics of the material.
Matching the 78 per cent water
content of the cornea and
mimicking the lipid layer of the tear
film, the material is the next step in
preventing water evaporation and
maintaining consistent optics, said
the company. Order free trial sets
on 0845 602 2350 or email
orderline@bausch.co.uk n
Newsbrief
Claudia Schiffer by Rodenstock
Silhouette celebrates
Catwalk trends
reflected
50th party in
Austrian embassy
The Claudia Schiffer by
Rodenstock eyewear
collection has been
expanded with a new range
of colours to reflect this
season’s catwalk trends.
Offering vintage styling is
sunglass model C3007e
(pictured), otherwise known
as Willow, now available in
pale pink-coloured layered
acetate. There are two new
colour variations in the
Chestnut model, including a
bright blue frame with
camouflage temples, while
the Apple has been
updated in a classic black.
Previously only available in
single colourways, the Birch
has been updated with a
combination of different
colours and prints. n
Cylinder power added
Johnson & Johnson Vision Care has introduced an
additional toric cylinder of 2.75DC for Acuvue Oasys for
Astigmatism, making it the only 2.75DC soft toric contact
lens available across the range from stock.
With nearly 5,000 parameter combinations for Acuvue
Oasys for Astigmatism, the Acuvue Oasys brand family is
said to provide coverage for up to 99 per cent of astigmatic
and spherical patients. n
Silhouette celebrated its 50th anniversary in style recently at
a party hosted at the Residence of the Austrian
Ambassador by UK MD, David Chalmers, and the Austrian
Ambassador, Dr Emil Brix.
The drinks reception began with an introductory speech by
the Austrian Ambassador, and a welcome from David
Chalmers to review the 50 years of Silhouette, and future
brand growth.
Addressing assembled guests, David said: “In 1964 Arnold
and Anneliese Schmied had a vision to create the most
beautiful eyewear available with the highest quality and
aesthetics as standard. This vision was then extended by
Arnold and Klaus Schmied, who have taken this wonderful
company to where we stand today. Now it’s the turn of
Thomas and Daniel to build on all the amazing things that
Silhouette stands for, and lead us all forward for the next
50 years.”
* Adidas and Silhouette International have extended the
license agreement for the sub-brand ‘Performance’ until
the end of 2019. n
Sight loss guidance for GPs
Small but perfectly formed
Benfleet independent, Williams Optometrists, has been
selected to be one of the Small Biz 100 by Small Business
Saturday.
Being one of only 100 small businesses across the UK to be
chosen, the practice will host a Small Business Saturday
event for the public on 6 December that will include a
Q&A session, free OCT examinations, frame fashion advice
and giveaways.
Practice dispensing optician, Nicole Banbury, said: “We
believe that the key to success as an independent
optician lies in building strong relationships with our
patients. Small Business Saturday is a fantastic way of
supporting other independent businesses in our area,
networking and connecting with our local community.” n
The Royal College of
General Practitioners (RCGP)
and the UK Vision Strategy
initiative have produced a
new guide, ‘Sight loss in older
people: the essential guide
for general practice’, with
the support of Thomas
Pocklington Trust.
The guide is part of the
RCGP’s clinical priority
programme, which runs to
2016 and aims to raise
awareness of the importance
of eye health and impact of
sight loss amongst GPs and
practice staff.
The release of the guide
comes after a recent survey
revealed that many GPs in
the UK were not confident
when diagnosing major eye
diseases. One third (34.1 per
cent) of respondents were
confident in spotting the
symptoms of age-related
macular degeneration, with
half of GPs confident in
recognising diabetic
retinopathy (48.8 per cent),
glaucoma (51.2 per cent) or
refractive error (49.3 per cent).
Download the guide at
www.vision2020uk.org.uk n
38
Practice team with their Maui Tower
Retro Paul Costelloe
Maui Tower
making its mark
Staff at Ellis and Killpartrick,
which has practices in Bath
and Cheltenham, have
been reaping the rewards
of their recent installation of
a bespoke Maui Jim cabinet.
“We think it’s the only one
like it in the UK and it’s been
fantastic for sales,” said
Louise Barrington,
dispensing manager.” The
Designer influences
in new models
amount of comments we
have had from customers
and reps has been
amazing. We are honoured
to have such a beautiful
cabinet and have already
seen an increase in sales.
Maybe it’s the cabinet
drawing in the customers or
maybe it’s the staff being
drawn to it, either way we
love it.” n
Cross-border eyecare guidance
The Optical Confederation has issued guidance on the
provisions eyecare practitioners should be aware of when
providing care to patients who attend their practice from
another EEA Member States. It also includes where to
direct UK residents who ask about access to treatment in
another EEA country to for further information.
ABDO members who wish to receive further information
and a copy of the guidance should contact Katie Docker
at kdocker@abdo.org.uk n
Irish fashion designer Paul
Costelloe has introduced a
new autumn/winter
eyewear collection for
Dunelm Optical, with 13 new
styles for men and women.
Taking a minimal approach,
the premium quality
acetates and lightweight
metals are defined by a
contemporary take on retro
classics. The designer
commented: “We’ve
worked hard to produce
some of the best styles yet in
the new season collection.
Influences undoubtedly
bounce through from my
clothing ranges to my
eyewear collections – both
are classic and timeless,
with clean lines and
contemporary references.”
See the new styles, and all
Dunelm’s A/W collections, at
www.dunelmoptical.co.uk n
Black & Lizars has announced a three-year partnership
with Edinburgh Leisure to promote the importance of
good eyecare in sports. Mark Ross, chief executive, said:
“At Black & Lizars, we understand the importance of
community leisure services in promoting health and wellbeing. This partnership with Edinburgh Leisure will
reinforce these goals by emphasising the importance of
good eyecare across a number of sporting activities.” n
New resource for public presenting
Were you inspired by last month’s
article, ‘Feel the fear’, to seek out the
chance to give a presentation?
Whether addressing local
schoolchildren or the WI, ABDO
members can now download a range
of presentations, prepared by ABDO
president, Peter Black, from the ABDO
website – all designed to take some of
the stress out of preparing a talk.
There are currently two talks to
download – one for primary school
age children about eyes, and another
for secondary school age children
about careers. Presentations for
parents and a general talk for adults
about looking after their eyes are in
development. The talks cover topics
including who’s who in eyecare, the
sight test, eye conditions, spectacles,
contact lenses and careers in eyecare.
The younger children’s presentation
covers the basics of looking after your
eyes, with fun questions about animals’
eyes and the senses.
Peter Black said: “My vision for these
presentations is to provide our
members with ready made
presentations targeted at parent and
toddler groups, primary and
secondary school children, and adult
interest groups so that they can go out
into their local communities and
spread the important public health
messages around the importance of
regular eye health checks in the
prevention of sight-threatening eye
disease so that we can help reduce
the burden of sight loss which is
predicted to increase from two million
people in the UK today to four million
by 2050.”
Visit www.abdo.org.uk, click on
‘Information for the public’ then
‘Careers in optics’ to view the first two
customisable PowerPoint
presentations. n
Newsbrief
Philipp Polonyi
New FMO board members
Move into
marketing
Philipp Polonyi has been
appointed as sales and
marketing director at
Contamac.
German born Philipp, who
joined Contamac in 2011
and was formerly its
business development
manager, said: “It has been
a privilege over the past
years to work closely with
Swiss students say cheese
Warm welcome for
Zurich students
our customers building
inspiring relationships and
spurring new ideas. My new
role is a great opportunity for
me to further engage our
customers in our future
strategy delivering a holistic
approach which offers
not just innovative products
but tailored services and
dedicated support
structures.” n
Technology boost
for FMO board
Krysten Williams, UK director of Heidelberg Engineering,
and Andy Yorke, UK director of Topcon, have been
elected to the board of the Federation of Manufacturing
Opticians (FMO) for a two-year term of office.
Andy Yorke said he had always supported the FMO
“because it belongs to the industry”, adding: “If you want
to create change the answer is to be involved. I urge
others who have a view on how UK optics should move
forward to make their voices heard at the FMO.”
Krysten commented: “The face of optics is set to change
with the UK Vision Strategy Call to Action and the focus on
provision of eye health services in the community. We are
keen to maximise the role of UK optometrists and believe
technology and education are the key to moving the
profession forward to the next level.”
Ron Wright, director of BIB Instruments, has retired from
the board n
City and Islington College in
London welcomed optics
students from Zurich
Technical College in
Switzerland to its campus
recently to enjoy a tour of
the facilities and hear from
lecturer, Peter Dobson,
about the history of
ophthalmic dispensing in
the UK.
The students also took part
in an interactive session
and observed experiments
involving the ‘Water tank
eye’ and various frame
materials. Commenting on
their visit, Julian Kaser of
Zurich Technical College,
said: “Overall, this visit was
very impressive. Our
students appreciated it
deeply. We would be
thrilled to stay in touch and
establish a mutual
cooperation in future.”
City and Islington College
head of department, Desiré
Saffier, said: “We hope to
involve our students next
time so that they too are
able to benefit from the
experience. Who knows,
maybe next year it will be us
visiting Zurich Technical
College.” City and Islington
offers the Diploma and
Foundation Degree in
Ophthalmic Dispensing in
conjunction with City
University as well as the
Contact Lens Course for
qualified dispensing
opticians. n
Going for gold
Essilor has pledged to match the £12k of funds raised by
cyclists up and down the country in support of Optometry
Giving Sight’s (OGS) 2014 campaign making the company
a gold national sponsor.
Essilor MD, Mike Kirkley, said: “We believe in Optometry
Giving Sight’s mission which is why we are pleased to
contribute by matching the Optoms Cycling for Sight total
and build on our strong relationship. We are proud to
support the cycle initiative in which so many groups and
individuals have undertaken truly impressive challenges
and have made a difference to Optometry Giving Sight.” n
Company model wins backing
The number of LOCs adopting the LOC company model has grown substantially in the past year, the 2013/14 LOCSU Annual
Report has revealed. Sixty-two out of 81 LOCs have now taken up the LOC company format and the model has a 100 per
cent success rate in procurement exercises and a growing track record of delivering existing re-commissioned services for
optical practices in the past 12 months, according to the report, which can be downloaded at www.locsu.co.uk n
40
Hannah Price turns things on their
head with an interesting dispense
Thinking
outside the box
Hannah Price
W
orking in an independent
practice, life can get a little
routine. Then, the optometrist comes
out to speak to you about their current
patient: “I have a challenge for you.
What can we do to help this patient?”
That is when you know that you are
going to have an interesting day.
In this instance, Chris Rushen (one of
our optometrists) had just finished
seeing a lady in her 90s with agerelated macular degeneration (AMD),
low vision and a severe spinal curvature,
which had left her with very limited
neck movement, and her chin almost
resting on her chest. She was also
rather fed up of being given spectacles
that she couldn’t properly use.
Before handing over the patient for
dispense, Chris and I discussed the
details of what he found and what we
thought we could do. She was
wearing varifocals in a nice deep
frame, but due to the severity of her
spinal curvature she was constantly
looking over the top of the frames,
and was unable to read without lifting
the frame up.
Chris had already discussed with her
that due to lack of neck mobility, she
might be better with separate pairs of
single vision glasses rather than her
varifocals, and that this would give
her much larger usable areas. It also
would mean she would not need to
move her head and neck as much
(or move the frames). Then we had to
decide what kind of frame would work
best for her.
At this point, I admit, I was a little stuck.
Of all the hundreds of frames I had in
stock, all would not sit high enough to
prevent the patient looking over the
top. And although I had a pair of
snooker specs, they would have been
too big on her. At this point, Chris
suggested we could fit them upside
down. Brilliant idea! All the depth of
the frame would be sitting above her
eyeline, but we could still pick her a
pretty feminine frame.
Calling in the cavalry
That kind of adjustment though was
just outside my comfort zone to do
confidently myself. So I got on the
phone to call our ‘go-to’ repair guy, Rob
Barrow, and his team at Spec Care. As
a qualified DO and SMC (Tech), Rob
The completed distance spectacles
understood precisely what I wanted
once I described the patient and the
condition of her posture, and our
thoughts on the best way to proceed.
Rob gave us advice on the best frame
type and style, which was a metal with
an oval shape, and ideally with the
bridge that was about two-thirds of the
way up the frame. He also advised
that they might have to increase the
side length. With a feasible plan in
place, all I had to do was explain it to
the patient.
After carefully explaining to the patient
exactly what Chris and I proposed, she
was quite excited to be trying
something different that would
hopefully work. We picked out two gold
coloured frames – as Rob’s advice was
that gold coloured frames were better
if they needed to solder anything.
Disjointed jottings from a DO’s desk . . .
It was a bit of a balancing act trying to
get a frame that was deep enough
without going too large, especially
for the reading glasses. Chris had
prescribed the patient strong reading
glasses to help her with close work. The
patient’s full prescription was: R: +4.00/
-1.25 x 90; and L: +3.75 DS (balance)
Add +4.00. Her VA in her right eye was
6/15 and N10 for near.
Tricks of the trade
I arranged with the patient to come
in once the modifications had been
done, to make sure she would be
happy with the look and feel of the
frames before we ordered the lenses.
When the frames came back, Rob had
done a fantastic job without having to
move and solder the bridge. Rob and
his team had managed to straighten
out the nose pad arms so they sat
above what was the top of the frame
(now the bottom of the frame).
Also, they reversed the angle of drop
without having to extend the side
length. They increased the pantoscopic
tilt to give the final result of a retroscopic
tilt – so the top of the frame was
angled towards the brow rather than
away. They did require a bit of
The patient wearing her old spectacles
and looking over them
The patient wearing her new distance spectacles
and looking through them
adjustment to sit nicely. I swapped the
nose pads to 15mm silicone, which
helped grip the nose more and helped
lift them up. I also increased the tilt
more, so the top edge of the frame
was almost touching the eyebrows.
impressed patient left the practice.
About a week after collecting I called
the patient to see how she was getting
on. By all accounts, the other residents
of her residential home think the glasses
look great. It has taken her a little while
to get used to them but she is getting
there. Her only niggling problem is she
cannot see her watch in her distance
spectacles. I am now thinking of
possible ideas to help this problem…
To keep the weight down, I had
ordered 1.6 index aspheric lenses for
both the distance and near spectacles.
On final collection, and after a few
minor adjustments that were required,
the patient was able to look around
through the glasses rather than over
them. All in all, one happy and
Frequently asked questions
Hannah Price FBDO is a dispensing
optician at Buizer & Cole, Clacton on
Sea, Essex. n
answered by Kim Devlin FBDO (Hons) CL
Reminder letters
A member asked this week whether a practice was obliged to send
reminder letters.
The simple answer is no, there is no legal obligation to send
reminder letters. What happens up and down the country is that
reminders are sent to patients on, or around, the date recommended
by the optometrist when the patient attended for an eye examination.
Very often, subsequent reminders are also sent if the first reminder
was ignored. Modern methods of communication mean that email
and text reminders are increasingly common. Such reminders are a
courtesy of the practice and not a legal responsibility.
Optometrists are encouraged to inform every patient at the end of
the consultation when a further eye examination is recommended.
They may say: “…but you’ll get a reminder nearer the time”.
Occasionally, if it is a short interval between appointments, three
months for example, the actual appointment can be made.
Problems occur when the practice owner or manager does not
want the particular patient to return. This might be the case if the
patient is a poor attendee, regularly making appointments and
then failing to attend. Another example may be those patients
who have their prescriptions made up elsewhere regularly,
especially those who then return expecting the practice to adjust
the ‘bargain’ spectacles. Such patients are best not encouraged by
a reminder letter, although they have an uncanny knack of
remembering when they are due…
It would be a good idea to ask optometrist colleagues not to
promise reminders will be sent at the due date in case it fails to
materialise. Patients are responsible for their own eye
examinations and may make an appointment as and when they
wish, and with whichever optometrist they so choose.
Kim Devlin is chair of ABDO’s Advice and Guidelines Working Group
42
Letter to
the Editor
DO refraction is a step
in the right direction
n There has been much
discussion of opticians
training to do refraction and
the General Optical Council
(GOC) allowing them to do
this in practices. Some
opticians have already
taken this training, but the
concern among some
members of the profession is
that it will introduce a twotier system. But do we not
already have this?
When an optometrist sees a
patient for 30 to 40 minutes,
taking all the pre-exam tests
and explaining them to the
patient, this is an eye
examination, with full
communication between
patient and optometrist. The
optometrist will also meet the
requirements of their
professional bodies and the
GOC regulations.
In some practices, however,
these pre-exam tests are
done by anyone other than
the optometrist with results
passed onto the optometrist.
The time allotted to the
patient is about 20 minutes,
with at least five minutes
taken up with greeting,
history and problems. How
can these results be carefully
analysed, let alone
explained to the patient?
This is a sight test!
As pressure from practice
owners is to get more bodies
through the consulting room
door, in the hope that it will
increase dispensing sales,
more examinations have to
be crammed into the working
day, at the expense of the
time spent on informing and
communicating with patients.
Way back, when it was
mooted that opticians were
to become CLOs, there was
uproar from our optometrist
colleagues, claiming we were
taking away their jobs. Has
this actually happened? I
think not. Perhaps it is the
same knee-jerk reaction
greeting the suggestion for
opticians to refract.
Optometrists are champing
at the bit to take on
additional duties, yet they are
up in arms about opticians
being able to extend their
repertoire. I doubt there will
be a stampede of opticians
clamouring to take the
refraction course.
All of us, on both sides of the
optical fence, would be on
more secure ground if
eyewear were promoted
responsibly and ethically
directly to the public, rather
than focusing solely on what
purports to be a highly
professional eye examination,
despite the fact this can
take as little as 20 minutes.
An increase in sales resulting
from the honest promotion of
spectacles, both frames and
lenses, would take the
pressure off the optometrists,
leaving them free to take the
time to do a truly
professional job. Just like
CLOs, opticians qualified to
do refraction would be no
threat to optometrists and it
would benefit the patients.
The restrictions likely to be
imposed to safeguard the
public will be quite strict and
this would be a great asset in
a dispensing only practice,
or where there is no
optometrist on duty to verify
that the existing prescription
is suitable for dispensing.
Allowing opticians to refract,
if they so wish, would be a
step in the right direction,
improving the service we
offer patients while being no
threat to optometrists.
Ian Anderson FBDO
London n
Your Golf Society
needs you
n In 1937, the ABDO Golf
Society was formed when
the then president, A.G.
Freeman, presented a
splendid silver trophy, the
ABDO Challenge Cup,
which we play for annually.
In 1970, the president was
Norman Stercks Martin and
he presented the Golf
Society with a silver salver,
which we also play for
annually. Recently, the
numbers of golfers
attending our days out
competing for these two
trophies has fallen, so
much so that the same
hardcore of players are
always to be seen
representing the society.
I am sure that there must be
a good number of golfing
dispensing opticians in the
country and the society
would love you to swell our
ranks. We have two outings
per year, usually on a
Tuesday or a Thursday, and
try to find easily accessible
courses, keeping the
venues fairly central to
England. Guests are also
welcome to our events.
Grateful thanks to our
sponsors, Lenstec and
Continental Eyewear for
their generous donation of
prizes. Society membership
is £10 per annum and if you
are interested in joining,
please email me at
m.stokes67@ntlworld.com
Mike Stokes
Secretary
ABDO Golf Society n
We welcome contributions
to our Letters to the Editor
page, which we reserve the
right to edit. If you would like
to air your views please email
ncollinson@abdo.uk.com
Optician Index - August 2014 summary
• Total practice turnover increased by three per
cent from July to 169 Index points, one per cent
lower than August 2013
• Total eye examinations increased by six per cent
from July to 98 Index, five per cent lower than
August 2013
• National multiples gain bigger share of increasing
number of NHS eye examinations
• Sample average total dispensing increases by six
per cent on last month to 94 Index points and
dispensing rate two percentage points better
than August last year at 66 per cent
• New contact lens fits up three per cent from July to
113 Index points which is the same figure as
August last year
The full August 2014 Optician Index was published in the
26 September issue of Optician
Diary of events
Please check event details online for up-to-date information at
www.abdoevents.org.uk
dispensingoptics
The Professional Journal of the Association
of British Dispensing Opticians
3 & 4 November
Vision Arena, Windsor - Visit
www.visionarena.co.uk
5 November
Nystagmus Network’s Wobbly
Wednesday campaign - For an
information pack, email
info@nystagmusnet.org
11 November
Area 11 (London) - CET evening (up to
6 CET points available), Holiday Inn,
Coram Street, London
24 November
Area 4 (East Anglia) - Low vision CET
evening, Deafblind Conference
Centre, Peterborough
26 November
ABDO - Graduation and Prize Giving
Ceremony, Canterbury Cathedral
December
PQE Practical Exam Revision Courses,
London - Contact Sally Bates on 020 8504
0967 or email sal_bates@hotmail.com
12 November
Area 5 (Midlands) - peer discussion
sessions, Holiday Inn Express, Banbury
(up to five CET points)
December
FQE Practical Exam Revision Courses,
London - Contact Sally Bates on
020 8504 0967 or email
sal_bates@hotmail.com
13 November
Area 7 (West Country) - CET evening
(up to 8 CET points available), Future
Inn, Plymouth
December
FQE Mock Practical Exams, London Contact Sally Bates on 020 8504 0967
or email sal_bates@hotmail.com
13 November
Area 9 (South East) - CET evening
meeting, up to six CET points, the
Guildford Institute, Guildford
January-March 2015
Pre-registration Dispensing
Programme - Contact Sally Bates on
020 8504 0967 or email
sal_bates@hotmail.com
16 November
Euromcontact seminar - Radisson Blu
Hotel, Amsterdam Schipol Airport. Email
pascale.rouhier@euromcontact.eu
16 & 17 November
National Eyecare Group - ‘Building for
success’ conference, East Midlands
Conference Centre. Visit
www.nationaleyecare.co.uk
17 November
BCLA - Visionaries & Pioneers
Conference, Royal College of
Physicians, London. www.bcla.org.uk
19 November
ABDO President’s Consultation Day Aston Business School, Birmingham.
23 November
SCLOSS (Scottish Contact Lens &
Ocular Surface Society) course Radisson Blue Hotel, Glasgow. Visit
www.opticalcet.co.uk
26 January 2015
Area 4 - CET evening, Holiday Inn,
Norwich.
30 January 2015
Nystagmus Network professionals
training day - Email
john.sanders@nystagmusnet.org
7-9 February 2015
100% Optical - ExCel, London. Visit
www.100percentoptical.com
Volume 29 Number 11 of 12
EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor Sir Anthony Garrett CBE HonFBDO
Assistant Editor Jane Burnand
Managing Editor Nicky Collinson
Email ncollinson@abdo.uk.com
Design and Production Ros Argent
Email rargent@abdo.uk.com
Administration Manager Deanne Gray
Email dgray@abdo.uk.com
EDITORIAL/ADVERTISING
Telephone 0781 273 4717
Email do@abdo.uk.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS
UK £140 Overseas £150, including postage
Apply to Tom Veti
ABDO, Godmersham Park, Godmersham
Kent CT4 7DT
Telephone 01227 733922
Email tomv@abdo.org.uk
ABDO CET
CET Coordinator Paula Stevens MA ODE BSc(Hons)
MCOptom FBDO CL (Hons)AD SMC(Tech)
ABDO CET, 5 Kingsford Business Centre, Layer
Road, Kingsford, Colchester CO2 0HT
Telephone 01206 734155
Email cet@abdocet.infoman.org.uk
Email pstevens@abdo.org.uk
CONTINUING EDUCATION REVIEW PANEL
Joanne Abbott BSc (Hons) FBDO SMC(Tech)
Keith Cavaye FBDO (Hons) CL FBCLA
Andrew Cripps FBDO (Hons) PG Cert HE FHEA
Kim Devlin FBDO (Hons) CL
Stephen Freeman BSc(Hons) MCOptom FBDO (Hons) Cert Ed
Abilene Macdonald Grute FBDO (Hons) SLD (Hons) LVA
Dip Dist Ed Cert Ed
Richard Harsant FBDO (Hons) CL (Hons) LVA
Andrew Keirl BOptom (Hons) MCOptom FBDO
Angela McNamee BSc(Hons) MCOptom
FBDO (Hons) CL FBCLA Cert Ed
Linda Rapley BSc FCOptom
JOURNAL ADVISORy COMMITTEE
Richard Crook FBDO
Kim Devlin FBDO (Hons) CL
Kevin Gutsell FBDO (Hons) SLD
Ros Kirk FBDO
Angela McNamee BSc (Hons) MCOptom
FBDO (Hons) CL FBCLA Cert Ed
18-20 April 2015
Optrafair - NEC Birmingham.
www.optrafair.co.uk
Dispensing Optics is published by
ABDO, 199 Gloucester Terrace, London W2 6LD
29-31 May 2015
BCLA - Clinical Conference and
Exhibition, ACC Liverpool.
www.bcla.org.uk
© ABDO No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or
by any means whatever without the written prior
permission of the publishers
25 November 2015
ABDO Graduation and Prize Giving
Ceremony - Canterbury Cathedral n
Dispensing Optics is printed by
Lavenham Press, Lavenham, Suffolk CO10 9RN
Dispensing Optics welcomes contributions for
possible editorial publication. However,
contributors warrant to the publishers that they
own all rights to illustrations, artwork or
photographs submitted and also to copy which
is factually accurate and does not infringe any
other party’s rights
ISSN 0954 3201
Average circulation 2013: 9133 per issue - ABDO
Board certification
Unless otherwise stated, details of all ABDO events and booking can be found at
www.abdo.org.uk/events. ABDO members are welcome to attend Area meetings
in any Area they wish
www.abdo.org.uk
OFFICIAL UK PARTNERS
7, 8, 7
9 February
SAT
- MON 92015
FEBRUARY 2015
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A Media 10 event

November 2014

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