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dispensingopticsDispensing Optics

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Telephone: 0781 273 4717

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.abdo.org.ukSeptember 2014

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3 Cover point

4 Continuing Education and Training Heads you win, tails you lose

12 CET answers Aftercare for the low vision patient

14 Patient and practice management Shine when you speak by Antonia Chitty

16 Patient and practice management ABDO gets social

18 Silmo 2014 Style and pizzazz in Paris

21 Products and technology Eyewear gets smart

22 Volunteering Best Games ever by Fiona Anderson

24 Low vision Somewhere to start by Jennifer Brower

25 Low vision Listen for the tears behind the smiling eyes

26 ABDO Benevolent Fund 50 years of helping members

28 Black arts by Peter Black

30 Newsbrief

35 Optician Index

36 Disjointed jottings from a DO’s desk… Are we being myopic about eyewear? by Ian Anderson

39 Diary of events

September 2014

Summer exams and autumnenrolmentsIt’s that time of year when third-year

students will have just received their

exam results and the various training

institutions are completing their

enrolment processes for the next

batch of eager first-year students.

This summer, 120 students successfully

completed their final examinations

and have now qualified as full FBDO

members, so many congratulations to

them all. In addition, a number more

will qualify this autumn following re-sits

of one or two sections. This is a very

healthy figure adding again to the

growing number of members

delivering a first-class service to

the public.

It is worth noting that examinations

don’t just happen; a lot of very hard

C O N T E N T S3 dispensingoptics

The Worshipful Companyof Spectacle Makers

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ABDO also actively works in conjunction with:

ABDO is a member of:

ABDO works in Partnership with:

work goes into both the preparation

and delivery of the examination

process – a process which is vigorously

monitored by external organisations

such as Ofqual and the GOC.

Clearly a considerable amount of

detailed work is put in by the

professional ABDO examinations

team, however, the whole system

would break down were it not for the

very dedicated band of ABDO

members who work as markers of

scripts or who conduct the lengthy

practical examination sessions. So, on

behalf of the ABDO board, I would like

to publicly thank them for all they have

done to ensure that the outstanding

reputation of our qualifying

examination has been maintained

and enhanced.

As we go to press, it is clear that a

substantial intake of new students will

be starting their course at ABDO

College this autumn. I wish them and

all other students around the country a

very successful and happy start to their

studies, and I look forward to being

able to welcome and congratulate

them in due course.

It is very pleasing to note the

continuing investment being made in

the future members of the profession

and we at ABDO take great pride in

the achievements of all our newly

qualified members.

Tony Garrett n

4 dispensingoptics September 2014

By Andrew Keirl BOptom (Hons)MCOptom FBDO

In this CET article, based on a lecture

given by the author at the 2014

ABDO Conference, Andrew Keirl

considers some of the optical

advantages and disadvantages of

spectacle lenses and contact lenses.

When considering the optical

differences between spectacle lenses

and contact lenses, the following

factors need to be considered:

• The correction of ametropia

• Magnification, retinal image size

and visual acuity

• Field of view

• Accommodation and convergence

• Binocular vision and anisometropia

The correction of ametropiaBoth spectacle lenses and contact

lenses are, of course, effective at

correcting refractive errors. These

include myopia, hypermetropia and

astigmatism. However, contact lenses,

particularly rigid gas permeable (RGP)

contact lenses, are better for

correcting astigmatism induced by

irregular corneas than other forms

of correction. Irregular corneas can

occur in patients with keratoconus,

keratoplasty and in patients who

have undergone refractive surgery.

When fitted with an RGP contact

lens, the tear lens that is formed

between the back surface of the

contact lens and the front surface of

the cornea ‘fills in’ the irregularities

of the corneal surface, producing a

more regular refracting surface.

Some binocular vision problems are

easily managed using spectacle

lenses. However, binocular vision

problems are difficult to manage

using contact lenses. In cases of

high myopia and hypermetropia,

the apparent size of the eyes and

surround can be a concern to

the patient when corrected

with spectacle lenses. These

magnification and minification

effects, of course, do not occur with

contact lenses.

Patients often change from a

spectacle to a contact lens correction

and vice versa. Both modes of

correction are usually effective in

producing in-focus retinal images.

However, there are some differences

between these two modes, most of

which are associated with the position

of the correction. In order to correct a

refractive error, a distance spectacle or

contact lens correction needs to form

an image of an object at the far point

of the eye. However, due to the vertex

distance, the far point will lie at slightly

different distances from the two types

of correcting lens. This means that the

powers of the spectacle lens and the

contact lens required to correct a

particular eye will therefore be

different. Using a hypermetropic eye

as an example, the geometry relating

the far point of an ametropic eye and

the correcting lens is shown in Figure 1.

When a hydrogel contact lens is fitted

to an eye, the lens ‘drapes’ over the

Heads you win,tails you lose

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 on page 10 and online. Insert your answers to the six MCQs on the inserted

sheet or online at www.abdo.org.uk. After log-in, go to ‘CET Online’. 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 January 2015 issue of Dispensing Optics. The closing date is 12 December 2014.

CompetencIes covered:

Dispensing opticians: Ocular Examination, Contact Lenses,

Refractive Management

Contact lens optician: Ocular Examination, Contact Lenses

Optometrists: Ocular Examination, Contact Lenses,

Optical Appliances

C-37002

Patient and practice management

eye and follows the curvature of

the anterior ocular surface. This

implies that the tear lens formed

between the contact lens and the

cornea (if indeed there is one) will

have zero power, and the ametropia

is corrected by the back vertex

power (BVP) of the hydrogel contact

lens. As the vertex distance of a

contact lens is zero, we can in

most cases assume that in order to

correct a patient’s ametropia, the

BVP of a hydrogel contact lens will

be close to the patient’s ocular

refraction (K). In other words FCL = K. If the

power of the correcting spectacle lens

along with its vertex distance is known, K

can be calculated using first principles as

shown in Figure 1 or using the expression:

where d is the vertex distance in metres.

However, when an RGP contact lens

is placed on the eye, the back surface

of the contact lens maintains its

shape and a tear lens of predictable

form and power is formed between

the rigid contact lens and the cornea

(Figure 2). The patient’s ametropia is,

therefore, corrected with a contact

lens/tear lens system and the BVP of

the RGP contact lens will not (unless

an afocal tear lens is formed) be the

same as the patient’s ocular refraction.

The contact lens/tear lens system

formed when a RGP contact lens is

placed on an eye means that three

elements are involved in the formation

of the final retinal image: the contact

lens, tear lens and the eye.

The vergence that actually corrects the

patient’s refractive error is the vergence

leaving the back surface of the tear

lens L4/ (Figure 3). When performing a

paraxial ray-trace through a contact

lens/tear lens system, it is often assumed

that a thin air gap exists between each

element, which can simplify the

calculation of surface powers and

vergences (Figures 2 & 3). When fitting

an RGP contact lens to a patient, it is

important to determine the likely

magnitude of the tear lens and how it

varies as the back optic zone radius

(BOZR) is changed, as this helps to

determine the required contact lens

BVP and aids fit evaluation.

The following rules of thumb are often

used by contact lens practitioners:

• The tear lens power increases by

+0.25 D for each 0.05 mm that the

BOZR is steeper than the cornea

• The tear lens power increases by

-0.25 D for each 0.05 mm that the

BOZR is flatter than the cornea.

The tear lens formed by an RGP

contact lens is shown in Figure 4.

Magnification, retinal image sizeand visual acuityIn practice, myopic patients are

often told that they may obtain

slightly better distance vision with

their contact lenses than with their

spectacles. Hypermetropic patients

may be told the opposite. These

potential differences in acuity are

caused by differences in spectacle

magnification when comparing

correction with spectacles and

contact lenses. Spectacle

magnification is the ratio of the

retinal image size in the corrected

ametropic eye, compared to the

retinal image size in the same eye

when uncorrected.

For thin lens systems and model eyes

where the entrance pupil coincides

with the cornea or the reduced

surface spectacle magnification is

given by:

When considering hydrogel contact

lenses, as the tear lens is usually

considered to be plano and the

contact lens thin, we can assume that

the power of a hydrogel contact lens

is equal to the eyes ocular refraction.

The spectacle magnification

produced by hydrogel contact lens

is therefore:

When comparing the distance visual

acuity obtained with spectacle lenses

and contact lenses, the usual

assumptions made are summarised in

Table 1.

A hypermetropic eye

The far-point MR lies behind the eye

Geometry relating the far point of an ametropic

eye and the correcting lens

Hypermetropia: FCL > FSP

Myopia: FCL < FSP

FSP/

f /

SP

M/

MR

k

d

K = 1

k

FSP

Figure based on Rabbetts/Jalie Clinical Visual Optics (Elsevier 2007)

k = f /

SP - d

Figure 1: Geometry relating the far point of an

ametropic eye and the correcting lens

RGP Contact lens

Liquid lens

Thin air gap

Thin air gap


Figure 2: The contact lens/tear lens system

F2

L1 L1 / L2 L2

/ = L3

Light from a distant object n

t

F3 F4

L3 / L4 L4

/

n

t

F1 F2


RGP CL Tear-lens

L2 / = BVP of CL in air

L4 / = ocular refraction K

Figure 3: The contact lens/tear lens system

Figure 4: The tear lens formed by an RGP

contact lens

The monocular static visual field for a right eye

60 degrees UP

75 degrees down

100 degrees Temporal

60 degrees NASAL

Figure 5: The monocular static visual field for a

right eye

Continuing Education and Training

FspK =

1-(dFsp)

hcSM =

hu

/

/

KSMcl =

Fcl

KSM =

Fsp

Continued overleaf

= Unity


When considering contact lens

systems, the entrance pupil is normally

taken to be 3mm behind the corneal

surface and both the contact lens

and the tear lens have a thickness. In

such cases, we are not therefore able

to simply state that the spectacle

magnification provided by a contact

lens system is equal to unity.

For a contact lens tear/lens system,

the spectacle magnification

produced is the product of the power

factor and the shape factor, the

expression for which is:

where:

• Fv/ is the BVP of the contact lens-

tear lens system (L4/ in Figure 3);

• Feq is the equivalent power of the

lens system; and

• a is the distance from the back

vertex of the lens system to the

entrance pupil of the eye.

For spectacles a = vertex distance

+ 3mm and for contact lenses

a = 3mm as d = 0.

For a contact lens tear/lens system,

the equivalent power is given by:

As an example, a patient is corrected

using a spectacle lens of power

+10.50DS at a vertex distance of

12mm. The back surface power is

-2.00D, centre thickness 6mm and

refractive index 1.60. The spectacle

magnification produced by this

correction would be in the region of

25 per cent. If the same patient is

fitted with a RGP contact lens, where

the contact lens centre thickness is

0.3mm and the tear lens thickness is

0.1mm, the spectacle magnification

produced would be approximately

five per cent. Even though the

thicknesses of both the RGP contact

lens and the tear lens are small

compared to the thickness of the

spectacle lens, the steep curves

involved mean that the spectacle

magnification produced is significant.

Field of viewThe normal monocular static visual

field for a right eye is shown in Figure 5.

Assuming that there is no relevant

pathology, this would be the monocular

static field of view enjoyed by an

emmetrope or a contact lens wearer

(assuming that the contact lens or its

optic zone is not very small in diameter).

With reference to the field of view

provided by a spectacle lens, the

static field of view is the total area

visible through the lens. It is usually

expressed as an angular measure

and is defined as the maximum

angular extent of vision obtainable

through the lens. Factors affecting the

field of view of a spectacle lens

include the aperture size, lens power

and vertex distance. To obtain the

maximum field of view, whatever the

size of the aperture might be, the

spectacle lens should be fitted as

close to the eyes as the lashes permit.

There are two other terms that are used

when discussing the field of view of a

spectacle lens. These are the ‘real’ and

‘apparent’ fields of view. The

apparent field of view (Figure 6) is the

angle subtended by the empty frame

aperture at the eye’s centre of rotation,

whereas the real field of view is the field

of view obtained when a spectacle

lens is glazed into the frame. When

comparing the real and apparent

fields of view, it is important to note

that the static real field of view provided

by a positive spectacle lens is less than

the apparent field of view implied by

the empty spectacle frame (Figure 7).

This means that hypermetropes suffer

from a decrease in field of view and

there will be an area around the

edge of a lens from which no light

can enter the eye (a ring scotoma).

Continued overleaf

R

Spectacle frame

Apparent field of

View: Empty frame

2 = Apparent field of view

Fitting

distance s

Aperture

size 2y

Figure 6: The apparent field of view

R R /

2 = Real field of view


R / is the image of R

Angular loss of field or scotoma

Field of view:

Positive lens

y

Figure 7: Real field of view (positive lens)

2 = Real field of view


R / is the image of R

R

R /

Field of view:

Negative lens

Angular increase in field

y

Figure 8: Real field of view (negative lens)

When an eye is corrected by a spectacle lens Aoc = K - L2 where

K is the ocular refraction and L2 is the vergence arriving at the eye from the near object

.

The vergence of the light arriving at the eye from the near object L2 is +2.06 D

The ocular accommodation is therefore +3.34 D

The ocular refraction K = +5.40 D which is what the eye needs to see

measured at the eye

–1/3 m

15 mm

L1 = –3.00 D

+5.00

K = +5.40

L2 = +2.06

Ocular accommodation - Spectacles

The eye is receiving +2.06 D from the near object and therefore has to

accommodate to make up the difference


Figure 9: Calculation of ocular accommodation

(hypermetropia)

The same principles apply for myopia

When an eye is corrected by a spectacle lens Aoc = K - L2 where

K is the ocular refraction and L2 is the vergence arriving at the eye from the near object

.

-1/3 m

15 mm

L1 = -3.00 D

-5.00

K = -4.65

L2 = -7.14

Note that a myope has to accommodate less than an emmetrope for a given near object.

Ocular accommodation - Spectacles

The vergence of the light arriving at the eye from the near object L2 is -7.14 D

The ocular accommodation is therefore +2.49 D

Compared to K the eye is receiving an additional -2.49 D from the near

object and therefore has to accommodate neutralise this excess


Figure 10. Calculation of ocular accommodation

(myopia)

Ametropia Spectacles CL

Myope SM < 1 SM ≈ 1

Hypermetrope SM > 1 SM > 1 < Specs

Table 1: Spectacles vs. CLs: assumptions regarding visual acuity

1 SM = x

1-aFv/

Fv

Feq

/

Feq = L1 x x x L2

L2

/

L3

L3

/

L4

L4

/

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™

THE ICONIC GREEN

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However, the static real field of view

provided by a minus spectacle lens is

greater than the apparent field of view

implied by the empty spectacle frame

(Figure 8). Myopic subjects therefore

benefit from an increase in field of view,

but there will be an annular area

around the lens periphery where

objects will be seen in diplopia. As

an example, a round lens, 48mm in

diameter is fitted at a distance of

25mm from the centres of rotation of

the eyes for a 10.00D myope and a

10.00D hypermetrope. The apparent

static field of view produced will be

87.7°. The real static field of view

produced in the myopic case will be

102.7° (an increase) whereas the real

static field of view produced in the

hypermetropic case is 71.5° (a

decrease). Bearing in mind the

assumptions made above, a contact

lens wearer will have the widest field

of view.

Accommodation andconvergenceThe ocular accommodation (Aoc) is

the accommodation required to

neutralise negative vergence arising

from a near object measured in the

plane of the eye. The ocular

accommodation is calculated simply

by comparing the subject’s ocular

refraction (K) with the vergence

arising from a near object measured

in the plane of the eye (L2).

As an example, a subject, corrected

for distance vision with a +5.00D

spectacle lens fitted at a vertex

distance of 15mm, views an object

placed 1/3m from the spectacle

plane. As the ocular refraction (K) for

this subject will be +5.40D, the

required ocular accommodation is

+3.34D (Figure 9). A second subject

again corrected for distance vision

but this time with a -5.00D spectacle

lens fitted at vertex distance of at

15mm views the same near object. In

this case, the ocular refraction (K) is

-4.65D and the ocular accommodation

+2.49D (Figure 10).

An emmetrope (or a contact lens

wearer) viewing the same near object

would have to accommodate by

+2.87D for the eye to form a clear

image on the retina (Figure 11). The

myopic patient will therefore need to

accommodate more when wearing

contact lenses than when wearing

spectacles (which could be an issue

for the emerging presbyope). The

opposite is true for the hypermetropic

patient as hypermetropes will need to

accommodate more when wearing

spectacles than when wearing

contact lenses, which is a distinct

benefit of fitting contact lenses to

hypermetropes over 40 years of age.

Convergence is defined as ‘the

movement (rotation) required from

the primary position, for the eyes to

fixate an object point on the mid-line’

(Figure 12). Both convergence and

accommodation should be equal for

normal binocular vision, and

convergence can be expressed in

degrees, prism dioptres or using the

metre angle. The ‘base in’ effect of

minus lenses (Figure 13) means that

myopes corrected with spectacle

lenses converge less than emmetropes

or contact lens wearers. However, the

‘base out’ effect of plus lenses (Figure

14) means that hypermetropes

corrected with spectacle lenses

converge more than emmetropes or

contact lens wearers.

For the two subjects in the above

examples, assuming that the lenses

are centred for distance vision, the

distance PD is 66mm and the centres

of rotation of the eye lie 27mm behind

the spectacle plane, the convergence

required to view the near object

would be 4.65° or 8.14Δ for the myopic

subject and 5.97° or 10.46Δ for the

hypermetropic subject. If the subject

was an emmetrope or was corrected

using contact lenses (Figure 15), the

convergence required to view the

same near object would be 5.23° or

9.16Δ.

The above examples show that the

myopic patient will need to converge

more when wearing contact lenses

than when wearing spectacles, and

the hypermetropic patient will need to

converge more when wearing

spectacles than when wearing contact

lenses. This correlates with the examples

comparing accommodation. So, to

summarise the differences between

For an eye corrected by a contact lens the required ocular refraction K is zero

Ocular accommodation Aoc = +2.87 D

–348.33 mm

Ocular accommodation – Contact lenses

The vergence of the light arriving at the eye from the near object L is -2.87 D

The contact lens wearer has to accommodate more than

the spectacle lens wearer to view the same near object

Note: Opposite to the hypermetrope!


Figure 11: Calculation of ocular accommodation

for a contact lens wearer

R R

PD PD

Mid-line

Object

= convergence

Figure 12: The definition of convergence

-5.00 D spectacle lens

R h/

h

l

l /

s

Mid-line

Object

= convergence

h = PD

Convergence required is 4.65° or 8.14

Figure 13: Calculation of convergence (myopia)

+5.00 D spectacle lens

R

h/

h

l

l /

s

Mid-line

Object

= convergence

h = PD


Figure 14: Calculation of convergence

(hypermetropia)

Contact lens wearer

R

h

l + s

Mid-line

Object

= convergence

h = PD


Figure 15: Calculation of convergence for a

contact lens wearer

AOC = K - L2


accommodation and convergence

demands when the same subject is

corrected with spectacles and

contact lenses:

Myopia: Accommodation and

convergence, more with contact

lenses than spectacles

Hypermetropia: Accommodation and

convergence, less with contact lenses

than spectacles.

So, when changing from contact

lenses to spectacles (and vice versa)

the accommodation:convergence

ratio is only minimally disturbed.

Binocular visionFor some binocular vision anomalies,

contact lenses offer advantages over

spectacles. However, for other

binocular vision anomalies, contact

lenses are contraindicated so a

knowledge of the orthoptic status of a

patient is important before they are

fitted with contact lenses. In cases

when an optometrist carries out the

eye examination and a contact lens

optician in the same practice

performs the contact lens fitting, this is

not likely to be a problem as long as

the patient’s binocular vision status is

communicated to the contact lens

optician by the optometrist. This is

particularly important if the patient’s

interest in contact lenses is made

clear before the eye examination.

In cases where the contact lens fitting

is separated from the eye

examination, as a precaution, the

contact lens optician may wish to

carry out the following essential

investigations (or seek the assistance

of an optometric colleague):

• History: Double vision, a turning eye,

a lazy eye, eye muscle surgery?

• Symptoms: Eyestrain, headaches,

blurring or diplopia associated with

a visual task?

• Accurate measurement of current

spectacles to detect prism or

decentration

• Cover test at distance and near

• Ocular motility.

The above tests are particularly

important in patients with high

myopia and in those who are fitted,

or are potentially going to be fitted,

with monovision or multifocal contact

lenses. If any of these ‘essential

investigations’ reveal suspicious

findings, ‘additional investigations’

such as fixation disparity or dissociation

tests may be appropriate. If the eye

examination and contact lens fit are

performed in the same practice, the

above tests may have been included

in the eye examination. However, this

should not be assumed and it is good

practice to check this with the

examining optometrist. If a patient

requires a prismatic correction (or

decentration to give a required

prismatic effect) and this cannot be

replicated in contact lenses, contact

lens wear is contraindicated.

Orthoptic indications for contact lensesOptical problems associated with

the spectacle correction of some

refractive errors are minimised in

contact lens wear because the

contact lens moves with the eye.

Potential problems include off-axis

aberrations (particularly in high

ametropia) and prismatic effects.

Improving the clarity of the optical

image by the use of contact lenses

may improve sensory fusion,

which might improve the orthoptic

status. The most commonly

encountered refractive error where

there are marked orthoptic

advantages to wearing contact

lenses is anisometropia. The two

optical problems associated with

anisometropia are differential

prismatic effects and aniseikonia.

When considering aniseikonia in both

spectacle and contact lenses

correction, it is necessary to calculate

the relative spectacle magnification

produced (the ratio of the retinal

image size in the corrected ametropic

eye compared with the retinal image

size in the standard emmetropic eye)

for a given distant object. It is also

interesting to consider any differences

in aniseikonia if the patient’s refractive

error is axial or refractive in origin.

In axial ametropia, spectacles

are theoretically better if the

anisometropia is axial in origin as any

aniseikonia will be less and binocular

vision will be more comfortable. The

opposite is true if the anisometropia is

refractive in origin, as correction with

contact lenses will result in the right

and left retinal images being the

same size. However, this theoretical

prediction, known as Knapp’s law,

was disproved by research that

revealed that contact lenses reduce

aniseikonia in all forms of

anisometropia1.

In addition, refractive (non-strabismic)

anisometropes are likely to achieve

their best binocular visual acuity and

stereoacuity when wearing contact

lenses as opposed to spectacles2.

Refractive correction without

patching can improve the best-

corrected acuity in an amblyopic eye

and this therapeutic effect may be

enhanced with contact lenses. It is

important to remember that patients

with pure anisometropic amblyopia

(no strabismus) can respond to

treatment at almost any age.

Correction of motor deviationswith contact lensesSome cases of decompensated

heterophoria or strabismus can be

treated with a refractive correction

using either spectacles or contact

lenses. For example, accommodative

esotropia can be corrected using plus

lenses and a decompensating

exophoria can be corrected using

minus lenses. The incorporation of a

prismatic correction is limited with

contact lenses but it is possible to

work base-down prism on RGP and

hydrogel contact lenses. Horizontal

prism can be incorporated into

complex scleral designs. The Igel toric

hydrogel lens from UltraVision CLPL

can include up to 2Δ with the prism

base in any direction. The lens is

stabilised using dynamic stabilisation.

Orthoptic contraindications forcontact lensesMonovision: Contact lenses are well

suited to monovision because of the

lack of differential prismatic effects.

However, the resulting monocular

blur is dissociating and monovision is

contraindicated in patients

whose binocular status is easily

compromised as decompensation

can potentially occur.

Visual compromise: Occasionally, a

visual compromise is deemed

acceptable because of the cosmetic

advantages of contact lenses, and

Continued overleaf


the patient may be happy to live with

slight blur in one eye. Again, this blur

could cause binocular vision to

decompensate in certain cases.

High myopia: Base-in prism with a

spectacle lens centred for distance

when reading can be helpful in cases

of near exophoria. A similar effect

occurs with high hypermetropes who

have a near esophoria. However,

these prismatic effects are lost when

contact lenses are fitted.

Superior oblique palsies:

Decompensation can occur if the

patient is forced to fixate in the field

of action of the weak muscle, ie. to

look down and in. Alternating vision

multifocals are contraindicated in

such cases and this applies to both

contact lenses and spectacles.

Recent cases from practice

Miss B: a 28-year-old student

veterinary nurse complaining of near

vision and display screen problems at

the end of the day. Her prescription

was -3.00D right and left and she was

fitted with continuous wear silicone

hydrogel contact lenses. A binocular

vision assessment showed a marked

exophoria at both 6m and 40cm

(greater at near) with poor recovery

at 40cm along with low base out

fusional reserves, and a small vertical

deviation. 3Δ of base in aligning prism

and 0.50Δ of vertical prism were

Physiological Optics 8: 341-4.

2. Edwards KH (1979) The

management of ametropia and

anisometropic amblyopia with

contact lenses. Ophthalmic Optician

8: 925-9.

Acknowledgment

Figures 1, 9, 10 and 11 are based on

and adapted from Rabbetts/Jalie

Clinical Visual Optics (Elsevier 2007).

Further reading

Evans BJW (2005) Eye Essentials:

Binocular Vision, Elsevier, Oxford, UK.

Keirl AW, Christie C (2007) Clinical

Optics and Refraction: A Guide for

Optometrists, Dispensing Opticians

and Contact Lens Opticians, Elsevier,

Oxford, UK.

Rabbetts RB (2007) Bennett &

Rabbetts’ Clinical Visual Optics,

Elsevier, Oxford, UK.

The figures in this article can also be

veiwed/printed as a handout. Click

the pdf icon just to the left of 'Take

Test' on the CET Online page of the

ABDO website.

Andrew Keirl is an optometrist and

dispensing optician in private

practice, Associate Lecturer in

Optometry at Plymouth University,

ABDO Principal Examiner for

Professional Conduct in Ophthalmic

Dispensing, and External Examiner for

ABDO College. n

indicated with the Mallett Near Vision

Unit. The patient wanted to continue

with the continuous wear modality,

so over-spectacles were prescribed

for reading and display screen use

with a low minus prescription (to

stimulate accommodation and

therefore convergence) along with

the required aligning prism.

Mr T: an 18-year-old college student

fitted with daily wear monthly

disposable hydrogel toric contact

lenses six months ago. His prescription

was right +3.00/-1.75 x 60 and left

+4.00/-1.25 x 160. At his last eye

examination six months ago he

displayed a moderately well

controlled esophoria and required

2Δ base out (left eye) in his spectacles.

However, he is now complaining of

horizontal diplopia at distance. A

binocular vision assessment revealed

a left esotropia. Without the 2Δ base

out, the esophoria had broken down

into an esotropia, and 14Δ base out

(left eye) was required to give

binocular single vision with both

spectacles and contact lenses. The

patient was referred for orthoptic and

ophthalmological assessment.

References

1. Winn B, Ackerley RG, Brown C A,

Murray FK, Prais J, St John MF (1988)

Reduced aniseikonia in axial

anisometropia with contact lens

correction. Ophthalmic and

A North East welcome at Ribby HallReport by Lorraine Wallbank

On 6 July, ABDO Area 3 (North East and Isle of Man) hosted an afternoon of CET at the picturesque venue of Ribby Hall nearPreston. As a treat on arrival, delegates and sponsors were welcomed with bacon sandwiches and refreshments.

We were delighted to welcome ABDO president, Peter Black, to give twodiscussion workshops on paediatric and anterior eye disorders, both of whichgave delegates ample scope to further explore their own and others’ views,and the chance to improve their own knowledge. Also made available duringthe day was a VRT, entitled ‘A low vision memoire’.

We would like to offer our thanks and gratitude to our sponsors on thisoccasion, which included Seiko Optical, Silhouette, William Morris London,Eyespace, Wolf Eyewear, the Eyewear Company and Sinclair Optical Services.Seiko Optical also kindly raffled a watch on the day to a lucky delegate. Weare happy to say that all the feedback from this day was very positive anddelegates and participants said they particularly enjoyed the venue.

We hope that you will continue to support your Area and join us on 5 October for our next event at the exciting venue ofthe Chill Factore – home to the UK’s longest indoor skiing and snowboarding slope. Contact [email protected] n

Area news

Nicky Benmayor of Wallwork Opticians, Manchester,

being presented with her watch by Anthony

Shakeshaft of Seiko Optical


1. Which statement is correct?a. The back vertex power of a contact lens for a particular

patient will always be equal to the patient’s ocular refractionb. RGP contact lenses are optically useful when fitting

patients with irregular corneasc. When fitting a patient with an RGP contact lens, a

positive tear lens will be produced if the back surface ofthe contact lens and the front surface of the cornea have the same radius of curvature

d. When fitting a myopic patient with a hydrogel contact lens, the back vertex power of the contact lens will be greater than the patient’s spectacle refraction

2. An over-refraction is performed following the fitting of apatient with an RGP trial contact lens. The result of theover-refraction is -0.50DS more than the expected value.Which statement is correct?a. The over-refraction indicates that the lens is too steep

and a lens with a BOZR 0.10mm flatter than the trial lens should be considered

b. The over-refraction indicates that the lens is too flat and a lens with a BOZR 0.10mm steeper than the trial lens should be considered

c. The over-refraction indicates that the lens is too steep and a lens with a BOZR 0.20mm flatter than the trial lens should be considered

d. Based on the over-refraction result alone, the result indicates that the fit of the contact lens is correct

3. Which statement is correct?a. The size of the retinal image formed in an eye corrected

by a contact lens will always be the same as the size of the retinal image formed in the same uncorrected eye

b. Spectacle magnification is the ratio of the retinal image size in the corrected ametropic eye compared with the retinal image size in the standard emmetropic eye for a given distant object

c. The tear lens formed when an RGP contact lens is placedon an eye can affect spectacle magnification produced

d. The power factor is of no consequence when calculating

the spectacle magnification produced by contact lens/tear lens system

4. Which statement is correct?a. The term ‘real field of view’ relates to the field of view

produced by an empty spectacle frameb. Hypermetropic subjects benefit from an increase in field

of view compared to myopes, and there will be an areaaround the edge of a lens from which no light can enterthe eye

c. Myopic subjects suffer from a decrease in field of view compared to hypermetropes, but there will be annular area around the lens periphery where objects will be seen in diplopia

d. A contact lens with a small overall diameter, or small diameter optic zone, can potentially affect the field of view experienced by a contact lens wearer

5. Which statement is correct?a. Compared to correction with spectacles, myopic

subjects will require more accommodation and convergence when corrected with contact lenses

b. A positive spectacle and/or contact lens correction canbe helpful in cases of a near exophoria

c. A negative spectacle and/or contact lens correction can be helpful in cases of a near esotropia

d. Prismatic correction cannot be incorporated into contact lenses

6. Which statement is correct?a. In cases of anisometropia, contact lenses reduce

aniseikonia only if the anisometropia is axial in originb. In cases of anisometropia, contact lenses reduce

aniseikonia only if the anisometropia is refractive in originc. Contact lenses reduce aniseikonia in all forms of

anisometropiad. Refractive anisometropes are not likely to achieve their

best binocular visual acuity and stereoacuity when wearing contact lenses as opposed to spectacles

Multiple choice questions (MCQs)Heads you win, tails you lose

The deadline for posted or faxed response is 12 December 2014. The module code is C-37002.

Online completion - www.abdo.org.uk - after member log-in go to ‘CET online’

After the closing date, the answers can be viewed on the 'CET Online' page of www.abdo.org.uk. To download, print orsave your results letter, go to 'View your CET record'. If you would prefer to receive a posted results letter, contact the CETOffice 01206 734155 or email [email protected]

Occasionally, printing errors are spotted after the journal has gone to print. Notifications can be viewed at www.abdo.org.uk on the CET Online page

Get scratching in new coating promotionShamir is offering all independentopticians the opportunity to win severalgreat prizes with all Glacier Plus coated lenses.

Shamir Glacier Plus is described as anadvanced substrate matched anti-reflection coating that improves optical performance and cosmetics by

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All Shamir lens orders, including theGlacier Plus coating, received before30 November will be dispatched with ascratch card and the opportunity to instantly win one of several great prizes.n


CET answers:Aftercare for the low vision patient by Anne Eyre1. Which statement is true regarding aftercare for a patientwith low vision?a. Progressive pathology always dictates irregular

re-assessmentb. They should be seen after four monthsc. The time interval will depend on specific conditions

and situationsd. They should be referred after one week

c is the correct answer. Every patient will present withdifferent needs and expectations so aftercare should betailored to the individual.

2. An elderly emmetropic patient using a stand magnifierwill need to wear reading spectacles to…a. help overcome a central scotomab. increase the field of viewc. increase the magnification producedd. overcome negative emergent vergence from

the magnifier

d is the correct answer. Reading spectacles will neutralisethe divergent light leaving the magnifier.

3. Steady eye strategy relates to…a. use of a functioning area of the retinab. reducing peripheral distortion wearing a monocular

distance telescopec. rotation of the eye to reduce nystagmusd. assessing the dominant eye where acuities are similar

a is the correct answer. The eye remains stationary and theprint moves, allowing each succeeding letter to beimaged in turn on the preferred retinal location.

4. What is the value of measuring contrast sensitivity duringan aftercare visit?a. To give an indication of visual performance in varying

light conditions

b. To assess the effects of glarec. To apply a compensation value to the measurement of

visual acuityd. To determine an optimum contrast value for

everyday tasks

a is the correct answer. Contrast sensitivity tests areclaimed to provide the best indication of a patient’s truefunctional vision.

5. Regarding the management of children with low vision,which statement is false?a. A statutory assessment is necessary for a Special

Educational Needs Coordinator to be consultedb. Visually impaired children can experience additional

difficulties during the change from primary to secondaryeducation

c. Visually impaired children attend mainstream schools d. An Individual Education Plan is devised by the Special

Educational Needs Coordinator

a is the correct answer. This is not a statutory requirement.

6. Aftercare appointments are most likely to provesuccessful if…a. several low vision aids are supplied and regularly changedb. the practitioner is able to increase magnification at

each visitc. there is an updated assessment of the patient’s needs

at each appointmentd. the aftercare intervals comply with published advice

c is the correct answer. It is important psychologically thatthe low vision patient understands the need for aftercareappointments, and what is likely to be achieved by them.There should be no expectation that improvement in visionwill be possible on each occasion. A re-assessment ofneeds/wants and a re-evaluation of equipment should beseen as the positive outcomes of these visits.

To download, print or save your CET result letter, go to www.abdo.org.uk. Log-in and go to 'View your CET record'.

The General Optical Council (GOC) is to host a public consultation event as part of a call for evidence for its strategic reviewof standards for optometrists and dispensing opticians.

The event will take place at 2pm on Friday 26 September at Friends House, Euston, and will be independently facilitated. Thestandards review will seek to ensure that the GOC’s standards continue to reflect good practice now and in the future, whilstenabling optical professionals to develop their roles – for example, by delivering more enhanced services in the community.

Stakeholders are asked to consider how optometrists and dispensing opticians’ practice may evolve in the future, and howthe GOC’s standards should adapt to ensure continuing patient safety.

GOC chief executive and registrar, Samantha Peters, said: “We really want stakeholders to attend this event and providetheir input on how the changing health climate will impact upon the optical sector and practitioners.

“With an increasing and ageing population, growing pressures on the NHS and the development of new technology, it iscrucial our standards allow our registrants to develop their practice whilst patient safety continues to be ensured. I thereforestrongly encourage all of our stakeholders to attend this event and help us with this review.”

The event is free to attend but delegates must register in advance due to limited capacity. Registration for the event can becompleted online via the GOC website at www.optical.org, or by calling 020 7580 3898 (option 4), or [email protected]. The GOC’s call for evidence closes on 10 October. n

Consultation on the future role of OOs and DOs

abdoCOLLEGE

KEEPING EXCELLENCE IN YOUR SIGHTS

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 [email protected]

ABDO College Operational Services, Godmersham Park, Godmersham, Canterbury, Kent CT4 7DT

www.abdocollege.org.uk www.twitter.com/abdocollege

Develop your professional skillsLow Vision Honours CourseAn opportunity to develop your professional skills and help others

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


it should be a formal presentation, a

written paper, or conversation.”

At this stage, Steve encourages us to

write up our understanding of the

presentation for the person who

asked, to ensure we have a shared

understanding. This builds confidence

and assuredness in moving to the next

step. The next step comes out of

considering how much people will

remember in a week’s time. What

would you want them to remember?

What is the core message? Steve

says: “Think in terms of a Twitter feed

headline. What would you want

tweeted? Steve Jobs is an example of

someone who had very strong key

Have you ever been at an event

where a speaker addresses his

notes, not the audience? Or perhaps

you’ve listened to a talk that has just

left you feeling nothing was relevant

to you.

It’s easy to be a mediocre speaker,

especially if you only are called on to

speak in public occasionally. Being

able to give a good talk can be a

handy skill to have, whether you want

to help local school children learn to

look after their eyes, talk to the local

WI about the work of an optician, or

do a spiel at a business networking

meeting to promote your practice.

Fortunately, there are some

straightforward techniques to help

you improve your speaking skills. In this

article, you can learn about planning

your talk, and hear from an optician

who speaks to all sorts of audiences.

Steppingstones to successSteve Creffield is the lead facilitator

and director at Evolve. He uses the

power of story, dialogue and

mindfulness to deliver creative

workshops, events and coaching

services. Steve says: “I am inspired

by how much can be achieved

when people can share ideas with

confidence and clarity, engage in

empowering conversations and are

passionate and mindful in that process.”

Steve teaches workshops on

presentation skills. He explains: “Over

the years I have developed steps to

follow when designing a presentation.

It all starts with thinking about who

you are presenting to. Get into

conversation with the person

approaching you in order to discover

their thoughts and aspirations for your

talk. You want to find out more than

where, when, how long, and establish

a real sense of the emotional need for

the presentation. This step is called

scoping, where you check out the

practicalities as well as investigating

the gap that they want your talk to fill.

That’s the basis for all other steps.

“Step two is inspired by a quote from

Stephen Covey – ‘Begin with the end

in mind’. Imagine you have given

your talk already: what will it have

achieved? Use the rule of three –

what do you want people to know, to

be aware of, to be able to do at the

end of the talk? With those first

questions answered, you can weigh

up whether you are the right person

to give the talk, and also whether a

presentation is the right method to fill

that need. You can consider whether

Shine when you speak

Steve Creffield

Antonia Chitty discovers somesimple techniques for improvingspeaking skills

messages, for example, the iPod has

‘1,000 songs in your pocket’.”

He continues: “Step four is

storyboarding. I use post-its rather than

a computer. I suggest starting with the

simplest story structure, and noting

down the beginning, middle and end

of the presentation.” Steve also

introduces people to more complex

story archetypes, and believes the

quality of the story is key to the

presentation. “The story gives people

a real sense of ownership, direction

and meaning – and it enables you as

a presenter to go notes free. Going

notes free opens up gesture, lifts the

quality of your voice and facilitates

more direct audience engagement.”

Steve calls step five, ‘checking for

completion’, which is grounded in the

work of Bernice McCarthy. She

discovered how much people

understood was based on the structure

of a talk; does it answer ‘why?’,

‘what?’, ‘how?’ and, finally, ‘if?’ Steve

has used her process to design

presentations in 16 different countries

and has found “it works everywhere!”

“Step six is all about rehearsal,” says

challenges for you: “I outlaw bullet

points, no clip art, not more than

six words per slide, and I have four

other constraints that I invite people

to adopt in creating their slide-deck.

The results are quite amazing. I

watched nine presentations

following these rules yesterday,

and they were outstanding. When

you can speak with confidence,

doors fly open and you can really

connect with your students or staff.

You stop avoiding situations and

start going after them. It is like finding

your voice.”

In part two next month, you can

learn more about how to deliver

your talk, and get some tips on

what to do when it goes wrong.

Find out more about Steve Creffield

and training for better speaking at

www.evolveintegral.com

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

Patient and practice management

Steve. How do you remember your

storyboard, the milestones and the

direction of the talk? You walk

through it with someone, someone

you trust and someone who will give

you honest feedback. This step has

us externalising the story, so we can

check for flow, progression, and

comprehension. “The person

listening helps you to transform the

talk from page to stage. It’s the step

from a written plan into oration. It is

amazing how many people re-edit

their plans after explaining them to

someone – you’ll spot things you

didn’t spot before.”

Steve says that it is only when you get

to step seven that you should sit down

at the computer. “The final step is

sitting down at the computer with your

large piece of paper, with the

storyboard up on a wall in front of you.

You can then use PowerPoint, Keynote

or Prezi with real precision.” He believes

that putting this step here can save

you hours of time and enable you to

get the very best out of the software.

For Steve, visual presentation is about

visuals, not words. He has some

Tim Bowden practises in Kent, and speaks ata variety of events. He says: “Over the yearsI’ve taught on the contact lens course at City& Islington, given presentations to the BritishContact Lens Association, to LOCs, schoolcareers departments and the WI. I have justbeen booked to do a talk about ophthalmicantiques in 2015. I also attend businessnetworking meetings on a regular basis.”

Tim’s main topic when he speaks is contact lens history. He says: “I’vespoken at the International Society of Contact Lens Specialists. I’mnaturally outgoing, and find it easy to speak about topics that I knowand like.” When Tim speaks at schools, he usually focuses on careers inoptics. He says: “I talk through different roles such as techniciansreceptionists, dispensing and contact lens opticians, optometrists andophthalmologists. My talk takes about half an hour, and there’s alwaystime for questions.”

Tim’s passion for optics and his personal experiences all contribute towhy he goes into schools. He explains: “I didn’t get my glasses until Iwas 10. I have 4-5DC in each eye and the first five years of my educationwere effectively wasted. If I hadn’t had glasses at 10, I’d have becomebored, disruptive, and gained no qualifications – so I like the idea of all

kids having eye examinations. We need to break down barriers and helppeople know more about optics.”

When Tim is at a networking meeting, he has a minute to talk about hisbusiness, and he always tries to make his minute stand out. “Generally Idon’t just give a boring ‘about’. One speaker I saw at an ABDO conferencehad three apples in his hands, and he said you won’t remember my name,but you will remember the three apples, so I try to go in with a prop; itcould be a hat, a saw.

“Most recently there was a presentation from a man from Tools with aMission, who was collecting old tools to take out to Africa so when Idid my pitch I spoke about a sight for ‘saw’ eyes, then gave him a saw Ihad brought in. In a networking meeting, I never try to sell anything. I’moften the only optician around, and when they know you, when theytrust you, they might buy from you.”

Tim has some tips for anyone who wants to improve their presentations:“One of my pet hates is PowerPoint presentations where people read whatis on the screen, perhaps with their back to the audience, and there are veryhigh class presenters who do that. There are others who know their subject.They talk about their slides, but to the audience. They don’t take themselvestoo seriously, and they entertain. A sense of humour comes in handy;just look at some of the best speakers in optics and you’ll see that.” n

Case study: Tim Bowden


Around 31 million people in the UK

use Facebook, with around 15

million using Twitter. In the last six

months, ABDO has been developing its

own consumer-focused social media

channels, with the aim of answering the

most frequently asked questions about

eyecare and eyewear while making

the public more aware of the role of

the registered dispensing optician.

The leading social media site in the UK is

still Facebook, and you can find the new

ABDO page at www.facebook.com/

eyecareFAQ, or simply search for

‘EyecareFAQ’ on Facebook. According

to Kate Rose, director of Rose McGrory

Social Media, who has compiled a

report on the latest social media usage:

“Facebook is now unarguably

mainstream, with effectively half the

UK population having an account.”

ABDO’s social media campaign is

focused on the main users of optical

practices themselves and, in particular,

women in the 25 to 55-year-old age

bracket who act as guardians of the

family’s health. “Facebook remains the

single largest concentration of

consumers on any social media

platform, so businesses writing

Facebook off do so very much at their

peril,” warns Kate.

It can seem hard to engage with

people via Twitter, but it is still

worthwhile having a corporate

presence on this site, as Kate explains:

“Twitter has also told us that almost

half of its users worldwide prefer to

ABDO gets social

Do you use Twitter? Has your practice got aFacebook page? Love it or loathe it, socialmedia is here to stay, and it’s a great way forABDO to reach out to consumers

read, rather than send out tweets

themselves. Forty per cent of users

worldwide simply use Twitter as a

‘curated news feed of updates that

reflect their passions’. This is well worth

remembering when it comes to setting

goals for a social media presence; a

significant proportion of your audience

are never going to respond to you,

but that doesn’t mean they aren’t

absorbing your content.” You can find

ABDO’s consumer facing channel on

Twitter at www.twitter.com/eyecareFAQ

It is harder to track the usage of Google

Plus, as the site has not released recent

figures. Nonetheless, it is worth using this

site just because of the way Google

encourages people to join and use

their Google ID to access all sorts of

other sites. There isn’t a short link to the

EyecareFAQ page on Google Plus, but

you can simply go to plus.google.com

and search for EyecareFAQ to find it.

Building a followingA key to building followers and reach

via social media is offering regular

trustworthy content. Since May, Antonia

Chitty and her team have been

building up this content on behalf of

ABDO, starting with answers to FAQs

about children’s eyecare, adult

eyecare, spectacle frames and lenses.

In the coming months, the social media

channels will focus on topics such as

specs for driving or sport, occupational

dispensing, as well as looking at issues

like sight loss, eyecare for older adults

and low vision aids, and contact lenses.

All the content is hosted on a special

section of ABDO’s main website, at

www.abdo.org.uk/information-for-the-

public/eyecarefaq/. This section is

designed for consumers, and makes it

easy to track data on how many

people are clicking through from the

social media channels, and follow their

interests. Beyond that, the big plus of

taking consumers to the ABDO site is

that they can see that the information

they find via social media comes from

trusted professionals.

Social media is still developing. Two

of the fastest growing sites are

Pinterest and Instagram, both of

which are based on images. ABDO is

developing infographics packed with

key facts about eyecare in a visual

format, which makes moving to use

Pinterest a logical next step. Alongside

that, with the growing amount of

video content, particularly that

developed in association with EYE TV,

a YouTube channel may also be on

the cards.

Right now, if you have any social

media channels for your practice, do

follow EyecareFAQ on Facebook,

Twitter and G+. You’ll find a growing

number of useful, shareable resources

that can help you promote your

professional services.

If you want to contribute ideas for

topics and resources to use on the

site, drop Antonia an email to

[email protected] n

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Arguably one of the most stylish

optical trade fairs to visit, Silmo this

year takes place from 26 to 29

September at the Paris Villepinte. With

preparations in their final stages, the

organisers are promising an improved

layout, a relevant programme of events

and a warm, Gallic welcome. If you are

planning to head to the capital of

fashion, then why not take advantage

of the new days and the reorganised

layout, the Silmo Academy with many

presentations in English, the glittering

Silmo d’Or awards ceremony,

merchandising workshops, Silmo TV

and the general fashion scene.

With close to 1,000 companies

occupying an exhibition area of some

80,000m2, Silmo’s organisers have set

out reconfiguring the halls to provide

clearer signage to the different industry

sectors represented, enabling visitors to

save time and effort when getting

around. New categories have been

added this year, with pictograms clearly

identifying each of the 11 sectors to visit.

The Ab Fab Lab, at the entrance to

Hall 5, brings together the latest

technological innovations, processes

and materials dedicated to the

manufacture of lenses and frames.

Surfacing, colouring, components,

materials, cutting and 3D printing will all

be showcased. Luxury brings together

jewellers, luxury brands and specialist

makers of exclusive frames. Showcased

within a dedicated display area, these

companies utilise the finest materials

such as gold, silver, horn, wood and

precious stones, fusing art with

craftsmanship.

The brand new Sport section shines the

spotlight on the specific characteristics

of sports frames and sunglasses to

promote active sports brands and

sportswear more effectively. The Village

continues to be an area where design

and the most innovative ideas jockey

for position to reveal stylish and

exclusive collections with a

contemporary appeal; it’s a truly

unique space celebrating the up-and-

coming creative vanguard, the so-

called new ‘Villagers’.

Frames brings together a comprehensive

overview of spectacles and sunglass

brands. These include traditional

eyewear manufacturers alongside

fashion brands and ready-to-wear

collections. Lenses brings together the

work of the world’s finest lens

manufacturers, presenting their latest

technological innovations with a

comprehensive product range

including all types of lenses: sport,

progressive, ophthalmic, solar, mineral

and organic.

Contact Lenses reveals solutions and

innovations in the field of contact lenses

designed to create footfall for practices

and grow revenue. Opticians’

Equipment is a must-visit area for

professionals wishing to keep abreast of

developments in tools, cutting and

measuring instruments, as well as

ophthalmic equipment. POS Equipment

offers opticians all the tools and

resources they need to plan their

practice layout including furniture,

display stands and signage.

Another new section, Connected

Opticians, introduces partner networks

for opticians – central purchasing

bodies, chains, management centres,

etc – together with professionals

working in the digital domain offering

solutions in IT and connectivity, websites,

social media networks, etc. This section

will also offer visitors a sneak preview

into the world of ‘smart glasses’. Low

Vision offers visitors the chance to

improve their knowledge of this sector,

with practical and useful information.

Design delights and innovationsSilmo will welcome more than 100 new

exhibitors this year, including Marchon,

De Rigo Vision, Schneider, Stepper,

Satisloh, Bushnell Outdoor Products and

Budri. There will be 28 UK companies

exhibiting, including Kirk & Kirk with its

debut collection, Vivarium, in the Village.

Inspired by the Victorian obsession with

science and nature, each Vivarium

frame is named after a celebrated

scientist of the era. The eyewear is

made from acrylic, which affords it a

unique colour palette and makes the

frames exceptionally light to wear. The

finish is lustrous metallic in hues of blue,

bordeaux, anthracite, brown, green

and silver and each frame is decorated

with a specially designed animal pin in


Style and pizzazzin Paris

The secret’s out – Silmo just got better

New signage will make it easier to navigate

the show

either 925 sterling silver or nine carat

gold. The pins sit proud of the frame so

have a ‘third dimension’ and their under-

statement necessitates a second look.

Creative director, Karen Kirk, said: “We

wanted to create something unique,

something that would surprise our

audience but at the same time be easy

to wear. It is one thing to create a

frame that stands out from the crowd

but an altogether different challenge

to make it sellable for the optician.” The

sunglass collection, Solarium, is

comprised of four acrylic shapes in six

metallic colours and uses graduated

mirror lenses. Once more there is a

choice of animal sterling silver or gold

pins, alongside the classic modernist

pins. The frames are handmade in

France while the jewellery pins have

been designed by Karen Kirk and

crafted in England. “We are extremely

excited to be launching this debut

collection in Paris,” said Jason Kirk.

Fellow UK designers, Booth & Bruce

England, will also be in the Village with

their latest funky collection. Born in the

1990s out of a desire to see an English

brand deliver cool, fashionable frames

to the more forward thinking eyewear

connoisseur, Booth & Bruce England

has grown into a globally recognised

brand, while keeping its roots firmly

grounded in the ethos, and ideals

that were there from the start. A

collaboration of urban chic, and daring

design, mixed with colour schemes to

push boundaries, Booth & Bruce will

continue to serve eyewear “realness”

on a global scale.

Industry stalwart Continental Eyewear

will once again grace the halls of Silmo

with its latest attractions. Sales and

marketing director, Neal Grimason, told

Dispensing Optics: “The autumn is the

traditional launch season for the

following year’s sunglass collection and

taking a prominent position on our

stand will be the 2015 Jaeger collection.

Launched in 2014, the 12-frame

collection will be enhanced with several

new styles for the coming year. One of

the main pre-requisites of the collection

is to ensure they are all glazeable, so

this will be the situation with the

complete range.”

Jaeger’s ophthalmic range will feature

several new models in the Pure Titanium

and non-titanium collections. Recent

participation in a Jaeger photoshoot

has resulted in some superb new

images, which will be available as

showcards and other POS items. The X-

eyes collection will also be on display.

Model 151 is the latest design; a

flattering feminine eyeshape in four

colours. “Produced in stainless steel with

a soft epoxy coating and colouring

technique developed in Japan, this is

certainly destined for the top of the X-

eyes bestsellers league table,” said

Neal, also keen to showcase new

models in the Lazer value range and

Zenith kids’ collection.

Technology and artisan craftsmanship

will be in evidence in seven new styles

from the new Rye & Lye collection

produced by Italian company,

Immagine 98. The new Tiepolo style

features round wood rims and metal

temples and is described by the

designers as an “eyewear masterpiece”.

Also from Immagine 98 will be the latest

X-Ide collection, where silicone temples

can be twisted or entwined to create

different chromatic effects. The resin

sheath around a metal core – stainless

steel in the case of model Assenzio –

have become distinctive features of

the collection.

British company In Specs will launch

several new models in its Savile Row

collection. Comprising 12 shapes, each

available in rolled gold, rhodium silver

and ruthenium – which offers a dark

anthracite finish – the gold used within

the collection has been increased

from 14 carat to 18 carat, offering

understated luxury. The new styles will

also be available in limited edition solid

gold and platinum. An all-new acetate

collection, inspired by the NHS frames

Silmo 2014

Fashion and design are foremost at the Paris show Model Curie from Kirk & Kirk’s debut collection,

Vivarium

Funky and cool homegrown talent

Tiepolo from Immagine 98’s the Rye & Lye

collection

A new model from the Savile Row collection by

In SpecsBrand new X-eyes 151 from Continental Eyewear

Continued overleaf

and again by Algha Works’ back

catalogue, will also be launched. Six

shapes are available in a range of

colours from traditional tortoiseshells to

saturated crystals. An expanded range

of combination frames will join the

Savile Row collection.

US born Ogi Eyewear, available in the UK

from Carina Eyewear, will be at the

show making a statement with a new,

thick and angular cat eye in dynamic

neons, model 9206. “This desirable style

encompasses many rich designer

details, giving it an exquisite look unlike

anything we’ve seen before,” said a

company spokesperson. “Available in

four colour schemes of pink mingle,

purple mingle, yellow mingle and green

mingle, the 9206 assures confidence to

the face behind the frame. From the

vibrant acetate fronts to the matching

coloured metal hinge accents, the 9206

presents itself as a frame to forever be

remembered.” Visit the stand to also find

our about accompanying counter cards,

logo blocks and large window banners.

View the 100 per cent polarised Rip Curl

Collection at the show, the new global

lifestyle brand distributed by Swiss

Eyewear Group. The collection consists

of 20 models in 60 variations and is

designed for young customers with an

active outdoor lifestyle. Vibrant colour

combinations with trendy matt finishes

are combined with matching mirrored

lenses. The collection is manufactured

using the highest quality Swiss TR 90

materials and the ultra polarised lens

from Swiss Eyewear.

Also launching at Silmo will be the Tom

Rebl Eyewear collection from Pregiata

of Padua, Italy. Avant-garde models

Protos and Bomb-Ray in the Rust

collection are the latest cutting-edge

styles developed by Pregiata for the

brand where rust has been applied to

acetate – a brand new concept for the

sector. The three iconic Protos styles that

have been mainstays of the Tom Rebl

Eyewear collection since its official debut

are now also offered in the Rust version.

Distinctive features are: minimalistic

frames, expert old-time craftsmanship,

and finishes applied by hand.

Presented during the Milan Fashion

Week, hand-crafted Bomb-Ray frames

are round and feature two-semi rimless

frames in acetate joined by a special

bridge handcrafted from metal plate.

The contrasting finishes are in oxidised

acetate with a shiny silver metal bridge.

The temples, made of acetate, feature

the iconic shape of the Tom Rebl

collection, with the special LIP logo on

the left tip and an inner plate inscribed

with the logo. Black smoke coloured

Zeiss lenses complete the look.

Brulimar Optical will be debuting its

Crosshatch collection – described by

the company as an affordable British

collection designed exclusively for

young males. The collection comprises

of 13 fashion styles in a range of plastics

and metals. Matt acetates have been

mixed with high shine metal and colour

injected acetate temple details. A

colour palette has been taken from the

solid greys and blues of the concrete

jungle and mixed with classic black

and tortoiseshell. Quality has been built

into every frame with sprung hinges,

TR90 lightweight plastics and multi layer

acetates featuring in various styles.

Silmo continues to be an important

appointment for WooDone, as Paris is

where its collection debuted two years

ago. It has taken just a few seasons for

this collection from the Alto Adige-

based company led by Thomas

Oberegger and Klaus Tavella to deliver

on its ambitious targets: 20,000 pieces

sold at 3,000 stores – 800 of these in Italy –

and in 35 countries, and its presence at

a host of trade fairs. The big news this

year is the introduction of a new wood,

dark ashwood hailing from Alto Adige

and found in eight new exclusive styles

with an out-of-the ordinary design and

featuring ever more modern, avant-

garde style details.

‘Smart glass’ specialists Waterside

Laboratories will exhibit in Paris for the

first time this year, showcasing various

products including smart frames for

Google Glass and its Smart Gold lens

design, which provides a distortion-free

zone for viewing heads-up displays

which are positioned in an area where

aberrations would otherwise occur (see

feature on page 21). Waterside will also

introduce its exclusive Infinity digital lens

series including its unique Nano design as

the world’s first progressive with a fitting

height of only 10mm. The Infinity Colours

lens collection provides photochromics

in vibrant hues such as pink, violet and

green. Finally, the new E+AB specialist

frame collection for use with SCUBA

and dive masks will be on display.

This is just a tiny snapshot of some of the

fantastic new designs and innovations

that will be on show at Silmo 2014. For

all the latest news and information on

registering and getting there, visit

www.silmoparis.com n


Sporty Rip Curl made by Swiss EyewearDynamic and bright model 9206 from Ogi Eyewear Unique Tom Rebl eyewear from Pregiata

Brulimar will introduce new Crosshatch styles WooDone designs made in Italy

Products and technology

The rapidly developing area of ‘smart

glasses’ could create a rewarding

new category for practitioners and this

has been recognised by the organisers

of Silmo Paris, who have for the first time

included a smart glasses section within

their ‘Connected optician’ area.

However, there are some challenges to

address in this new eyewear category.

The location of the heads-up display

(HUD) on Google Glass is one example

where the wearer has to gaze in an

upward and oblique direction, away

from the optical centre of the lens.

Depending upon the total power of

the lenses at the angle of view for the

HUD, a significant amount of prismatic

effect and off axis aberration can

contribute to uncomfortable vision –

even for short periods of time. This

could be further compounded by

significant astigmatism.

Normal prescription lenses are not

designed to optimise visual acuity in the

peripheral area of the lenses, which can

lead to a blurring of the HUD as well as

eye strain as wearers try to focus while

viewing in this less-than-optimal viewing

area. Even for those who do not require

vision correction, eye fatigue can be

caused by gazing at an uncomfortable

position where the HUD is located. To

combat this, Rochester Optical in the

US has created a proprietary freeform

design lens algorithm to not only

mitigate the unwanted aberrations and

prismatic effects in the direction of the

HUD, but to actually enhance vision at

all angles binocularly.

The company’s products, including

smart frames for Google Glass, are

offered exclusively in Europe by

Southampton-based Waterside

Laboratories. To support binocularity,

the right lens is optimised in the upper

right area that the wearer looks

through to see the HUD, and the left

lens is compensated in the

corresponding area. This balancing of

Rx powers on both lenses also

eliminates the discomfort caused by

the brain processing images with

different focal lengths.

Future’s here nowWearable technology is becoming

very much the future ‘that is here

now’; a recent report by Deloitte

concluded that “the eyes have it” and

“smart glasses are go”, predicting that

the mass launch of smart glasses was

likely to be met by scepticism and

delight, as is customary with the

launch of each new digital form

factor. The initial models of smart

glasses are likely to appeal to, and be

purchased by, a niche market. But at

a global level, the volume of early

adopters in 2014 may well number in

the millions – with demand increasing

to the 10s of millions by 2016 and

surpassing 100 million by 2020.

Whilst it may be a niche business at

the beginning, optical practices that

become early adopters of this new

category are likely to enjoy good

business opportunities in the future as

they recognise and understand the

optical requirements of smart glass

users. Whilst Google may be the first to

extensively promote a consumer-friendly

smart glass product, it is still just a ‘beta’

version that remains in development.

Upon commercial release at more

affordable pricing, I predict that sales will

increase dramatically.

‘Smart glasses’ represent a new eyewear category thatearly adopters could capitalise upon, writes Bob Forgan

Eyewear gets smart

Bob Forgan discusses smart glasses at Optrafair

London 2014

Diane von Furstenberg and Google’s DVF | Made

for Glass eyewear

At present, practitioners cannot supply

Google Glass but, in the future, they

may have the chance to become

specialists in the supply of not just the

optical solutions but of the smart

glasses themselves – as this is

something the consumer would no

doubt prefer.

Juul & Payne Advanced Eyecare in

Clifton, Bristol, supplies smart frames

and lens solutions for Google Glass.

“Patients who have bought their

Google Glass device from Google can

come and choose the frame and we

will supply Waterside’s Smart Gold

lenses, designed with an optimised

viewing area to provide visual acuity

and clarity when looking at the HUD,”

said James Eastwood, dispensing

optician and practice manager.

“At present we are only seeing interest

from the early adopters, but as Google

Glass and other wearable devices

become more commonplace, I

believe the market for optical solutions

to work with them will grow rapidly,”

James added. n


at eight previous Games – both

Olympic and Commonwealth – and

many (like me) were first timers. Not

that it mattered as we all worked

alongside each other – not just within

our own departments but helping out

wherever we were needed, to ensure

the greater medical needs of all who

were attending the Games were met.

Friendly, fun and far-reachingThe overwhelming emotion I

experienced during the Games was

happiness, due to the fact that the

people I was coming into contact with

were ever smiling and friendly. During our

daily handover, we were able to have

a giggle, sharing some good-natured

banter, and discussing consultations

that we had been a part of like: “Was

a gent having a PD of 84mm a

record?”; “Could we supply crutches?”;

“Could we help with chest pain?”; and

“Could we help an athlete to get some

eyes?” “Don't you already have two?”

“No it’s for my leg...” “Ah, you mean

Inspired by the success of London

2012, and seeing the huge part the

Gamesmakers played, I was as keen

as the next person to volunteer at the

Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games

in my home city. Many others did so

too – in fact more than 50,000 people

answered the call to volunteer – and it

was said that it was one of the largest

offers to volunteer in peacetime. After a

few months of waiting, I was called for

interview – just me and another 24,999

folks. Thankfully, I was one of the 15,000

who got the call to be a ‘Clyde-sider’.

Being a dispensing optician, it was a

bit of a ‘no brainer’ that I would

volunteer to be a member of the

optometry team. The first few days on

shift were quiet, our first shifts were on

Sunday 13 July – 12 whole days before

the Games actually started – but

teams from across the globe had

started to arrive so we had to be

ready, willing and able. It also gave us

a chance to set up the department,

make sure all the equipment was

working, ensure that we could all use

the computer system and find out

where we would meet the van that

delivered our newly-made spectacles.

This quiet was not to last as, within a

few short days, the department was

buzzing – eye examinations being

undertaken, spectacles being

dispensed to patients who had lost or

broken theirs, and lost or forgotten

contact lenses being replaced.

Ophthalmology appointments to treat

sore eyes quickly filled up and the

appointment book was chock-a-block

from the word ‘go’.

Teamwork and shift sharingWe were based at the Polyclinic within

the Athlete’s Village in the east end

of the city. Here was a fully staffed,

one-stop health shop operating 24/7

emergency medicine, general

medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy,

pharmacy, podiatry, sports massage,

radiography and many more

professions – not to mention optometric

services. Three team members,

consisting of an ophthalmologist,

optometrist and dispensing optician,

staffed the optometry clinic in two

shifts – an early shift from 8am to 4pm,

and a late shift from 2pm to 10pm.

The handover in the middle of the day

was invaluable – the early shift could

outline what had happened during

the day, and anything required could

be followed up by the late shift. The

late shift left a paper handover for the

following day so our colleagues knew

what was going on and were kept ‘in

the loop’. Communication was the key

to the success of the department. The

service was further enhanced by state-

of-the-art equipment, which was

generously loaned by Topcon, Keeler

and Glasgow Caledonian University.

Our remit was to provide emergency

eyecare to athletes, Games ‘family’ –

their trainers, doctors, coaches and

whole entourage – and Games

officials such as judges, timekeepers

and the like. The vibe within the

Polyclinic was amazing – everyone

was so friendly, and making the most

of their volunteering experience. Some

were ‘old hands’; the lead pharmacist

was a veteran who had volunteered

Never have I been more proud tocall Glasgow my hometown, writes‘Clyde-sider’ Fiona Anderson

Best Games ever Fiona Anderson at Glasgow 2014

Fitting frames to an athlete

ice!” We were situated next to the ice

baths in the athletes recovery centre…

The volunteers – or Clyde-siders as we

were called after Glasgow’s famous

river – came from far and wide. Our

small team of six DOs had a 50/50 split

with three from Scotland – Graeme

Stevenson, Hamish MacDonald and

me – and three from England – Steve

Golding, Helen Denton and Liz Baron.

At some of the training days we

attended in the lead up to the Games,

I spoke to people from as far afield as

Canada and Australia, and yes, they

too were volunteers. It just shows that

these are indeed the Friendly Games

and I, for one, had a ball and will look

back on my many pictures and

memories with great affection.

I hope that this brief insight into what

went on at Glasgow 2014 gives you

some idea of what volunteering at an

event like this is all about. There are so

many opportunities to volunteer within

our profession, such as with Vision Care

for Homeless People, Vision Aid

town” – the words of the popular folk

song are still ringing in my ears…

Fiona Anderson BSc(Hons) FBDO R

SMC(Tech) is an ABDO board

member, chairman of ABDO Area 12

(Scotland) and a self-employed

dispensing optician. She is also an

ABDO practical and theory examiner,

Optometry Scotland council member,

and Grampian AOC observer. n

Volunteering

Overseas, local initiatives such as

Talking Newspapers, and many more.

Based on my experience, I wouldn’t

hesitate in recommending that my

fellow ABDO members get involved.

I had such a fabulous time at Glasgow

2014. It was a real busman’s holiday. I

made some new friends, learnt new

skills and, above all, had great fun. “I

belong to Glasgow, dear old Glasgow

Fiona with fellow optometry team Clyde-siders

Association of British Dispensing Opticians

Principal ExaminerLow Vision in Ophthalmic Dispensing

ABDO currently has a vacancy within itsteam of principal examiners for the level 6ophthalmic dispensing qualification and islooking for a principal examiner to write andproduce three theory papers and markingschemes per year within the subject area ofLow Vision in Ophthalmic Dispensing.

The post holder should posses anappropriate and/or professional expertiseand experience in relation to the subjectarea to be assessed. This is likely to bereflected in their academic and/orprofessional qualifications and their currentengagement in research, scholarly orprofessional activity.

It would be beneficial for the post holder tohave current or recent experience ofexternal examining in higher education orcomparable experience, whichdemonstrates their competence toexamine students in the proposed subjectarea at the appropriate level.

In order to provide sufficient time for theeffective performance of their dutiesprincipal examiners should not normally beresponsible for more than one subject area.

The appointment is for one year and will bereviewed at the end of the agreement.

Applicants should send their curriculum vitae together with a letter outlining their experience in this field to:

Mark Chandler, Head of Examinations and Registration,ABDO, The Old Dairy, Godmersham Park, Godmersham, Canterbury, Kent CT4 7DT.

The closing date for applications is Friday 6 October 2014.

Jennifer Brower provides an update on ABDO’spopular low vision CET days

Members are always asking me

how they can get experience in

low vision, where to start, what

equipment to use and what courses are

available to learn the basics. So at the

beginning of last year, I suggested to

the ABDO Low Vision Committee that

we might put on a low vision CET day at

ABDO College, offering information and

experience to help DOs get started and

give them confidence to do low vision

work in their own practices. Happily, the

committee liked the idea and we

swung into action straight away.

The day was to offer 18 interactive CET

points, cover six competencies, and

include assessment of real low vision

patients to bring together everything

covered throughout the day. We

roped in Katie Docker and her team in

membership services and sent out a

single email invitation for a Sunday in

April to the five ABDO Areas

surrounding Godmersham asking for

postal applications. Within just a few

days, I had received 123 positive

responses for 36 places. We quickly

decided to repeat the day and,

ultimately, filled two more days, August

and October, and everyone who had

originally applied was offered a place.

Enthusiastic responseThe day was very intensive, covering

the basics of low vision assessment, low

vision hardware workshops, information

on low vision record keeping, the

relevance of refraction in low vision,

virtual low vision assessments plus the

much-anticipated ‘real’ low vision

assessments. We had several wonderful

low vision patients, and two gorgeous

guide dogs, and were delighted by

the interest and enthusiasm of

members but also by the very positive

feedback we received.

There was also a mini LVA exhibition,

which we were able to use for our

virtual low vision assessments, and we

are indebted to our sponsors: Optelec,

Bierley, Associated Optical, Edward

Marcus and Rodenstock. We were kept

going with refreshments throughout the

day, had a splendid lunch and by the

end of the third day, we knew we had

to repeat the event in 2014.

This year we offered two days, in

June and July, and again filled both

days very quickly. This time we were

delighted to welcome eight

optometrists. From the feedback we

have received, it is clear that members

would welcome more low vision CET

days and I have already started

thinking about what we can offer next

year and where. So watch this space.

I should like to record my thanks to the

members of the Low Vision Committee

who supported me in this venture and

who worked so hard as tutors: Annette

Ball, Nick Black, Helen Denton, Anne

Eyre, Stephen Golding, Gil Smith, Sara

Porter and Sally Williams, plus David

Brower, our refraction guru, Gillian

Smith, and our facilitators Julian Silburn

and Joanne Abbott.

Katie and her staff were a huge

support and thanks also go to Sue

Rose for organising our equipment.

Finally, thank you to our delegates,

many of whom travelled very long

distances to Godmersham, for arriving

in time for registration at 8.30am on a

Sunday morning and for staying

cheerful throughout the day.

Jennifer Brower FBDO (Hons) LVA Cert

Ed is an elected member of the ABDO

board, immediate past president and

chairman of the ABDO Low Vision

Committee. n

Low vision: somewhereto start


Members getting to grips with low vision in July

Have you bookedyour place yet?ABDO Area 4 CET Sunday28 September 2014THE RADISSON BLU HOTEL,STANSTED AIRPORT, ESSEX

A full day of interactive CET, coveringALL dispensing optician and contact lensoptician competencies.

Highlights will include:

• Up to 18 interactive CET points • Interactive workshops• Contact lens workshop hosted by BCLA• Rimless repair skills workshop• Paediatric dispensing• Low vision• Peer discussion session• Special guest speaker Professor Mo Jalie• Interactive small group poster quiz• Exhibition• Refreshments and lunch included• Free goodie bag• Charity prize draw

Only £20.00 for ABDO members,£70.00 for non-members.For more information, please [email protected]. To book yourplace visit www.abdoevents.org.uk

Low vision

The International Society for Low

Vision Research and Rehabilitation’s

11th International Conference on Low

Vision, Vision 2014, was held in

Melbourne, Australia, from 31 March to

3 April. A highly multidisciplinary

gathering, the event began with a

presentation of personal journeys and

perspectives from a panel of visually

impaired people aged from four to 92.

All talked of the challenge of straddling

two worlds – of being sometimes blind,

sometimes sighted.

Over four days, I attended lectures

and workshops via a multi-channel

programme and presented an

abstract on the role of the dispensing

optician in community low vision.

Having become recently involved in

my local Falls Prevention Group, I was

keen to understand global

perspectives on the falls prevention

and research. What surprised me was

recent research presented by Stephen

Lord that those who had a recent

refractive change were 50 per cent

more likely to fall.

Thinking of how we are so involved in

the selection, fitting and collection of

spectacles, we surely have a role to

play in reducing or eliminating the

falls risk through education, warning

and understanding. Sharon Bentley

presented a paper on supplying an

additional pair of single vision

distance spectacles with any

varifocals for those who lived active

‘outdoor’ lives. The risk of their falls was

reduced, but there was not enough

information on the effects of design,

fitting or selection to convince me to

recommend this at our practice, but it

was food for thought.

Service user is the expertThe diversity of the conference

reinforced the importance of

working with other professionals, but

reminded us to ensure the service user

is the ‘expert’. A mother of a 22-

month-old diagnosed with rod/cone

dystrophy a few days after birth

explained their story. Struggling to

come to terms with the diagnosis,

compassion and understanding

were her first essential requirements.

Although she was immensely grateful

for all the support they received, she

felt they weren’t given time to come

to terms with it all and everyone

seemed to ‘take over’. This session

included a range of child services

and explored best practice from a

global perspective.

Living with low vision creates a greater

risk of depression as those with no sight

spend 50 per cent of their time alone,

and those with moderate to severe

low vision spend 33 per cent of their

time alone. We need to ensure that

we have the facilities to identify and

signpost, and refer for support. This is

best described by the title of this

article, ‘Listen for the tears behind the

smiling eyes’.

The highlight of the exhibition was

an iHouse by Apple split into four

zones, which replicated a vision-

impaired person’s experience in the

home with the assistance of the latest

technology from Apple. The use of Siri

and image capture was widespread

throughout the conference. People

with visual impairment were using live

feed video to observe distant objects

with significant magnification on their

screens, or taking images of PowerPoint

slides to manipulate then view on their

own screens.

All this really brought to life the

versatility of these devices and

highlighted an area where I could do

more as a practitioner. In the iHouse, I

met an extraordinary chap, David

Woodbridge, who was visually

impaired as a child then in his teens

became functionally blind. His desire

was to go to university and study

computer science. He was advised

against doing so but persevered

against all odds to succeed. He is now

an advocate for Apple Australia, with

a following of about 250,000 people.

As dispensing opticians, we must

ensure that we are at the forefront of

low vision service provision. Many of us

may not see ourselves as low vision

practitioners, but we deal with people

every day who may be at risk of falling

or who may need our help to maintain

a safe, independent lifestyle. I ask you

to stand up, look at the local

infrastructure and know how you can

help out or signpost individuals to the

required services. Some useful

information can be found on the

ABDO website under ‘Low vision’.

Nick Black BSc FBDO CL (Hons)LVA is a

director of BBR Optometry, Hereford, a

director of Herefordshire LOC, and a

member of the ABDO CET and Low

Vision Committees. n

Nick Black reports on the annual low vision conference,Vision 2014

Listen for thetears behind the smiling eyes

The idea of establishing a

Benevolent Fund for dispensing

opticians was first mooted in 1938, 10

years after the formation of the ADO,

ABDO’s predecessor, when nine optical

companies decided to form a joint

organisation to represent dispensing

opticians. The aim was that any member,

or their dependants, in financial distress

should have a sympathetic source of

help. Of course, soon after this the

Second World War broke out and plans

for the Fund were put on hold. It took

more than 20 years before the Fund was

established but, finally, on 1 January

1964, the idea became a reality.

The original deed was made between

the ADO and four trustees, who would

have the ultimate responsibility for the

Fund’s finances. The day-to-day running

would be the work of a management

committee of five – four to be

appointed by the council and the fifth

to be elected for a renewable term of

three years. Over the years, the trustees

and the management committee

members have changed but the

original structure has remained. And so

the Benevolent Fund was born.

But where was the money to come

from? Well, it was decided that ADO

members could join the Fund by

paying a few shillings a week for seven

years, which would then guarantee

their entitlement to ask for help. As

members, they would also have voting

rights on important issues. In later years,

the Association made an annual grant

from the subscription of every full

member to help provide a reliable

income. Nowadays, every full ABDO

member is automatically a Benevolent

Fund member with associated voting

rights and the entitlement to call on

the Fund for assistance. Another

initiative was the launch of an affinity

credit card, which provides a donation

whenever the card is used, and both

of these have proved to be valuable

sources of income.

Changing times and situationsAs the decades have passed, the type

of help we’re asked for has changed

considerably – as have the applicants.

Early on, they were often widows of

former members, some of whom we

gave a monthly grant to and

occasionally paid for a TV licence, a

new hoover or a few pounds towards

a high gas bill. We still give monthly

grants, but now help in different ways,

from giving loans to members in

between jobs, to helping towards

moving costs, providing holidays or

respite care.

We may pay a consultant’s bill for

urgent medical treatment, give advice

on claiming state benefits, and have

even fitted stair lifts. Where we once

paid to repair a member’s bicycle, we

now pay towards travel costs or car

insurance. Sometimes we share costs

with other charities and, in this way,

have helped to provide a special chair

to support a member with severe

arthritis, a wet room conversion for

another disabled member and a

replacement central heating boiler for

a young family.

The reasons behind applications have

also changed, from a need to top up

a state pension to members struggling

with high credit card or mortgage

debt. In cases of serious debt, we refer

applicants to StepChange, a free

advice service, which draws up a

tailor-made debt management plan

and is a trusted mediator for banks,

utility companies and local authorities.

Each case is dealt with sympathetically

and confidentially. The management

committee have a responsibility to the

trustees to manage the funds carefully

and effectively, so in many cases one

of the team will visit a new applicant,

not only to check their circumstances,

but to discuss their problems, listen to

their concerns and report their

recommendations back to the

management committee. From then,

the committee can act very quickly,

particularly if the applicant is at risk of

eviction, and in most cases will pay

creditors’ bills direct.

Although the name Benevolent Fund

harks back to a bygone age, the work

we do is very much of the moment.

Much of the committee discussion and

contact with applicants is by email,

funds can be transferred to a bank

account electronically within seconds,

and legal action stopped in its tracks.

The Rules of the Benevolent Fund state

that it is available to any current or

former ADO or ABDO member, the

employees of members engaged in or

connected with dispensing optics or

employees of the Association or of the

Guild of British Dispensing Opticians

and, in each case, the dependants of

such persons.

If you ever need our help, please

let us know, or if you know anyone

who you think needs our help,

ask them to contact us. Email

[email protected]

Jennifer Brower FBDO (Hons) LVA Cert

Ed has been associated with the ABDO

Benevolent Fund for 32 years, 28 as

chairman. She is an elected member

of the ABDO board, immediate past

president and low vision adviser to the

ABDO board. n


As the ABDO Benevolent Fund celebrates its 50th anniversary, itschairman Jennifer Brower looks back at how it all began

Jennifer updates members at the 2014

Benevolent Fund AGM

50 years ofhelping members

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For more information email: [email protected] • Tel: 01452 510321 • View online: www.norville.co.uk

SEE ALL FRAMES

FROM EVER Y ANGLE


Peter Black

Black artsHave you been called to action?As you read this (assumingyou eagerly grab Dispensing

Optics the moment it landson your doormat!) NHSEngland’s Call To Action onEye Health is nearing theend of the consultationperiod. So if you practise inEngland and haven’t yetbeen moved to respond,please consider doing so by the 12 Septemberdeadline. Just for once, letyour voice as an individualdispensing optician, albeitanonymously, be heard.

Feedback from Call toAction events so far hasbeen mixed. In some areas,colleagues have reportedthat the dispensing opticiansand optometrists presentwere greatly outnumberedby hostile ophthalmologists,orthoptists, nurses and sight loss charity workers,however, in most meetingscommunity opticalpractitioners have been well represented and thenotion that we have a lot to offer has been fullyembraced by those from the hospital sector.

Yet I can’t help thinking,despite all the talk, andmeeting after meeting, theindustry will be gripped byapathy yet again and fail to deliver when it counts. Isay this because Optician

on 1 August, reporting on

the conclusion of the GOC’sconsultation on illegalpractice, stated that a totalof 31 written responses hadbeen received. The GOCseemed to think thisresponse rate was good, yet it registers over 26,000individual optometrists,dispensing opticians,opticians’ businesses andstudent opticians. So aturnout rate of just betterthan one in 1,000 is felt to begood. Really?

I am sure that the variouseyecare institutions acrossthe UK will have allresponded, and the Call toAction should have a muchhigher response rate.However, assuming apathyremains the norm amongstrank and file eyecarepractitioners, this is atremendous opportunity fordispensing opticians to puttheir views across.

DO refraction on the table again?Perhaps you feel that GOSsight tests in England shouldbe available to all patientsas they are in Scotland?Perhaps you feel a two tiereye examination would bea better approach; eyehealthcare on the NHS andrefraction a separatetransaction linked to thesale of a pair of specs andmaybe carried out by orunder the supervision of adispensing optician?

Perhaps you consider thatthe requirement for theprivate sale of glasses andcontact lenses to subsidiseGOS eyecare is not onlyunfair to private clients whoarguably pay over the oddsfor glasses, but alsocompletely unsustainable in the age of intensecompetition from theinternet, refractive surgeryand supermarkets. Ofcourse, you might disagreewith all of the above? But ifyou practise in Englanddon’t kiss your chance torespond to the Call to Actiongoodbye. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.

Slipping standardsAnother opportunity for allmembers to have their say isthe forthcoming GOCconsultation on professionalstandards. Submit aresponse in writing viawww.optical.org.uk or whynot attend their meeting on26 September at 2pm atFriends House (oppositeEuston Station).

The review will focus on thestandard of performance,knowledge and behaviouramongst registrants andhopes to gaze into thecrystal ball so our regulatorcan ready itself for theinevitable changes that willcome as opticians andoptometrists develop theirscope of practice, and thefull force of technological

and demographic changeare felt in eyecare over thenext few years.

I hope the Standards Reviewwill be yet another chancefor ABDO to shine a brightlight on paediatric dispensingin the UK. Registrants whosupervise non-qualified stafffrom a darkened room, or a back office, or whootherwise don’t comply withthe standards for supervisionof regulated dispensing canexpect to be brought intoclear focus.

Illegal regulated dispensingEvidence of potentiallyillegal paediatric dispensingcontinues to reach me at arate greater than theaverage GOC consultation.Disturbingly, I am hearingrepeatedly about paediatrichospital eye departmentsposting out spectacles topatients without fitting theframes on collection,checking vision, etc.

Although I can conceive ofcircumstances where itmight exceptionally be inthe patient’s best interestsfor glasses to be postedwithout a final fitting, I wouldnot like to be theresponsible registrantcarrying the can if this ishappening commonly orroutinely. Certainly itcontravenes ABDO andCollege of Optometristsguidance, and also FODO

advice from a professionalindemnity perspective.Responsible supervisingregistrants, when they findthemselves before the GOC,will clearly not have a leg tostand on, and they may alsofind they lack legalrepresentation too.

Room for improvementWorking as I do for acompany that not onlymystery shops its ownpractices, but those of itscompetitors, and as anexaminer and practicevisitor I am well aware thatstandards in communityoptical practices aregenerally very high. This hasbeen recently confirmed bythe Consumers’ Associationvia its magazine Which? Itrated the independentsector highest of all, and thewhole sector pretty muchscored very well by CAstandards, however, there isstill room for improvement.

A relative of mine recentlywent to choose some newreading glasses one Sundaymorning. Luckily she had adispensing optician in tow,as she received no helpwhatsoever choosingframes. She then waited 45minutes, during which theassistant did 16 dispenses,before she was measuredand payment taken.

When my wife asked if theassistant would like to seethe frames on, she was told,“No, we’ll do that when youcome and collect”.

On collection, nobody wasable to adjust the bridge onthe frame to make theframe comfortable and theanswer to this concern wasthat if she didn’t like them,she could have her moneyback. Luckily this particularpatient had a couple ofdispensing opticians stayingwith her that week who wereable to make the requiredadjustment (that severalOAs had tried and failed todo) in just a few seconds.When we talk of standards,we need to look at thebasics of optical customerservice too.

Promoting to a wideraudienceThe success of EyeTV andour presence onwww.healthcarenews.itn.co.uk has not gone unnoticedin the wider world and inrecent weeks, I have beenquoted in The Times,presented at a medicalconference on the subjectof putting the patient at theheart of healthcare, andbeen interviewed by PoliticsFirst magazine for inclusionin their party conferenceseason edition. As part of a

Black arts

two-page spread that willhopefully be read by agood number of politicians Ihad this to say in reply to thefollowing question: “If youcould change one thingabout the current systemwhat would it be?”

“Political will is needed toembrace ‘hospitals withoutwalls’, allow efficient and cost-effectivecommissioning, akin to theScottish system, to engagecommunity optometricpractices in the provision of preventative and timelyeyecare interventionsincluding diagnosis andtreatment of eye disease,low vision services, eye casualty, eyecareadvice and eye healthpromotion. Only then mightwe make some headway instopping preventable sightloss doubling over the next35 years.

“At the heart of the matter,however, is a fundamentallyunfair GOS contract in allareas of the UK exceptScotland. Currently opticalpractices are paid around£21 for an optometrist todeliver a comprehensiveeye examination that costsbetween £35 and £60 todeliver. This means opticiansare entirely dependent onthe sale of spectacles to

subsidise the delivery of NHS

healthcare – not only is this

unfair to spectacle wearers

who are arguably paying

over the odds – it also

means opticians will not

willingly attract patients who

don’t wear glasses but might

still be at risk of sight-

threatening eye disease.

“The current GOS contract

means opticians can’t

compete with unregistered

sellers, especially online

retailers, who do not have

to provide eyecare services

or live with the unfair

cross-subsidy of NHS

patients. According to GfK,

optical practices are closing

at the rate of two per week –

500 practices closed

between 2008 and 2013,

and the rate is only

accelerating in 2014. This

is reducing equitable

access to eye healthcare

as practices are being

lost from deprived and

rural areas rather than the

High Streets and shopping

malls that have plenty of

affluent private patients

capable of subsidising

the 70 per cent of the

population entitled to an

NHS sight test under General

Ophthalmic Services. It is

time for change.”

Peter Black n

The College of Optometrists will markthe 100th anniversary of the start of theFirst World War when it opens its doorsto the public during Open House 2014on Sunday 21 September.

Visitors will be transported back to 1914for the launch of the British OpticalAssociation museum’s First World Wartrail, housed at the College’sheadquarters. During the event, acostumed character will provide insightand anecdotes on the health andvision of the war’s volunteer recruits.

The College will be open to the publicbetween 1pm and 5pm, and there is noneed to book in advance.

Neil Handley, Museum Curator, said:“This is the eleventh year the Collegehas taken part in Open House, and itseemed fitting that we acknowledgethe 100th anniversary of the start of theFirst World War this time.”

The College welcomed nearly 600 visitorsduring the Open House London event lastyear. Open House is held every year for

College of Optometrists to remember theFirst World War at Open House 2014

one weekend in September, duringwhich a wide range of buildings usuallyclosed to the public can be visitedcompletely free of charge.

The College of Optometrists is basedat 42 Craven St, London WC2N 5NG,between Charing Cross andEmbankment stations. n

A visitor with one of the museum’s exhibits

Simon Naudi


BCLA president, Susan Bowers

Young people and contactlenses in focus

Action group formed for Optrafair 2015 An Optrafair 2015 action

group has been formed to

build a fresh dynamism to

the show.

Led by show owner,

the Federation of

Manufacturing Opticians

(FMO), the group is

comprised of frame, lens,

technology and IT

company exhibitors, plus

decision makers who are

experienced in the

exhibition world. Examining

both the exhibitor and

visitor expectations and

experiences, the group is

looking at marketing

initiatives, the importance

of pre-show marketing and

product launches. A greater

emphasis on business and

allied fields are to be

encouraged, plus a close

examination of the delivery

of education.

“The enthusiasm and

commitment of the group is

exceptional and signals

that Optrafair 2015 is going

to open many eyes to new

aspects of business and

clinical care,” said

Optrafair chairman,

Malcolm Polley. The show

launch on 17 September at

the NEC Birmingham, which

is geared towards all

exhibitors and potential

exhibitors, will explore

many of the new concepts.

Guest speaker Simon Naudi

will present on advanced

sales techniques and

maximising a company

presence, regardless of

size, at the show. His book,

The Gentle Art of Firm

Persuasion, is a reference

point for much of his sales

planning and psychology.

To reserve a place email

[email protected] n

British Contact LensAssociation (BCLA) president,Susan Bowers, will askmembers to consider ifenough is being done toencourage children andyoung people to trycontact lenses – during herPresidential Address, to beheld on 24 September atthe Royal College ofPhysicians in London.

In her talk, ‘A vision of thefuture: children and contactlenses’, Susan will discussthorny subjects such as: howmany of your young myopeshave increasing myopia?;and is hypermetropic eyelength growth a dream, or a reality?

The lecture offers one CET point for CLOs in three competencies(communication, contactlenses and ocularexamination) and foroptometrists in fourcompetencies(communication, contact

lenses, ocular disease andbinocular vision).

Susan said: “The question I’dlike members and guests tofocus on during my address is – are we prescribingenough to children andyoung people? And nowwe are successfullyprescribing lenses formyopia control, shouldcontrolling hypermetropiceye length growth withlenses be next on ouragenda?”

BCLA members can attendthe address for free, alongwith one non-member guesteach. Drinks are served from6.30pm and Susan’spresentation will run from 7-8pm. Dinner afterwards atthe RCP costs £45 per head.Register at www.bcla.org.uk,and make a dinnerreservation by [email protected] ortelephoning the BCLAoffice on 020 7580 6661. n

The General Optical Council hasapproved a new strategy for tacklingillegal practice in the optical sector.The strategy covers all types of illegalpractice prohibited by the OpticiansAct 1989, from misrepresentation oftitle to online contact lens sales thatdo not comply with UK law.

The GOC will now take a proactive,

multi-pronged approach to reducingpublic harm by raising awarenessamong contact lens wearers of theneed to follow aftercare advice andhave regular check-ups, promoting acode of practice for online contactlens suppliers, acting on complaints inline with its prosecution protocol andstrengthening its collaboration withother bodies with a role in enforcement

and promoting public health.

The strategy was subject to a publicconsultation from 3 March until 3 June.This included a public event on 12 May,which brought together stakeholdersincluding registrants, patientrepresentatives, professional bodies,manufacturers and retailers to discussthe GOC’s proposed approach. n

GOC takes action on illegal practices

NewsbriefNewsbrief

New destination for paediatricdispensing workshop

Offer is on the ball (nine years to teen) andEG-L 1031 (adult).

The goggle features softnose pads and temples toincrease protection, andthe design includes a raisedrear bevel to reduce the riskof the lens being knockedthrough. Norvillerecommends glazing withpolycarbonate or Trivexlenses for best protection.To order [email protected] n

Norville is offering a displaystand and branded ballwith orders of six models ormore from its Progear sportsprescription goggles range.

Approved to wear by theFootball Association,Progear goggles are said tooffer the ideal protectionand comfort whilst playingfootball and other sports.The head-strap model isavailable in three sizes: EG-S1011 (six years+), EG-M 1021

This month’s London 2014Education DestinationTherapeutics Seminar willpresent another chance totake part in a paediatricspectacle dispensingdiscussion workshop withspecially made children’sprosthetic heads, hosted byABDO members’ supportmanager, Barry Duncan

Jointly run by theAssociation of Optometrists(AOP) and SECOInternational, London 2014takes place on 28 and 29September at the HolidayInn, Bloomsbury. Theexpanded programmeoffers two dedicatedseminar tracks –therapeutics and, for thefirst time, children’s vision.

As well as the paediatricspectacle dispensing

discussion workshop, thechildren’s vision trackincludes presentations fromDr Maggie Woodhouse andMoorfield’s specialistophthalmologist, AshwinReddy, supported by Paul Adler and otherchildren’s vision specialistpractitioners. CET points willbe available across thetrack for optometrists anddispensing opticians.

Karen Sparrow, AOP headof professional services,said: “Moving to a largervenue has given us an idealopportunity to expand ourprogramme and addanother specialist trackhighlighting children’s vision –a key special interest areafor our members.”

Details are at www.aop.org.uk/london-2014 n

Karen Sparrow of the AOP

Ticking all the fashion boxes

collection returns this seasonticking every box when itcomes to fashionable,wearable styles. The vintagetrends show no sign ofslowing down, which is whythe aptly-named Retrocollection continues to gofrom strength to strength.” n

Dunelm Optical hasreleased 17 new ‘modernvintage’ styles in its unisexRetro sun collection, aimedat teens through to 40-somethings.

Peter Beaumont, director atDunelm, said: “Our Retro sun

Sports goggles offer Retro by Dunelm


Bollé is sponsoring the BritishSailing Team as OfficialSupplier of performancesunglasses and prescriptioneyewear for a third term upuntil March 2017.

The company has worked inpartnership with the BritishSailing Team since theBeijing 2008 cycle. Using thelatest technology andpolarisation, Bollé willprovide team members –sailors, coaches and supportstaff – with eyewear from itsMarine sunglasses range.

Sponsorship deal is all plain sailing

Daring to be themselves

Clairvaux frames from Sight Care

Bollé optical specialist, CraigMcNeil, said: “We are proudthat the British Sailing Teamhas chosen to wear Bollé.Our lenses will help toenhance the vision of theteam and offer themmaximum protection fromthe challenges they facedaily on the water –including harsh glare, lowlight and poor visibility fromwater droplets.” Ourphotograph shows teammember Luke Patience inBollé sunglasses, courtesy ofPaul Wyeth/RYA. n

The Sight Care Group’s newClairvaux frames arehandmade in French artisanworkshops using the finestItalian acetate with a brand slogan, ‘Dare to be yourself’.

The retro designs are basedon patterns originating fromthe 1950s and 60s. SightCare marketing manager,Andrew Tallis, said: “Aftermonths of deliberationfollowing feedback from

our practices, we set aboutthe challenge of choosing acollection that would addvalue to the collections ofindependent practices.”

Clairvaux is available in 10styles each of two coloursand comes with a leathercase, branded lens clothand POS material.Telephone 01256 782323, orvisit www.clairvaux.co.uk orwww.sightcaretrading.co.uk to view the collection. n

Performance eyewear sponsorship

Bausch + Lomb has introduced theEye-ssential mask to provide soothingrelief for meibomian glanddysfunction (MGD), dry eyesymptoms, styes, tension headachesand sinus pain.

The patented Thera Pearl technologydelivers a hot or cold therapy,following freezing or microwaving.When hot, the mask encouragesblood flow and healing, providingrelief from MGD, dry eye symptoms,

styes and blepharitis. The mask’s icetherapy constricts blood flow andslows swelling relieving tensionheadaches, sinus pain, allergies andpuffy eyes.

Bausch + Lomb OTC marketingmanager, Valerie Steiner, said: “Ournew Eye-ssential mask is a valuableextra tool in the armoury of treatmentsfor dry eye, blepharitis, MGD andpuffy eyes. Patients who report tensionheadaches may also find relief

through use of the chilled mask.” Themasks are supplied in packs of six ina counter-top display. Order byemailing [email protected] or telephone 0845 602 2350. n

Soothing option for MGD and dry eye

President’s Day heads to AstonAston Business School in Birmingham will be the venue forthe next ABDO President’s Consultation Day, to be held onWednesday 19 November.

All ABDO members are welcome and encouraged toattend the day. In order to confirm attendance, pleaseemail Jane Burnand at [email protected] byFriday 31 October. n

The Eye-ssential mask

Safeguarding guidance updatedThe Optical Confederation has updated its Guidance onSafeguarding and the Prevent Strategy: Protecting Childrenand Vulnerable Adults.

The update incorporates information from the recentlypublished Intercollegiate Guidance for SafeguardingChildren (2014) and further updates on the government’sPrevent Strategy. The guidance is available from the OpticalConfederation website at http://tinyurl.com/o9euy2q n

As part of a long-termgrowth strategy to expandits practice portfolio to 40within the next two years,Black & Lizars has opened anew flagship practice offPrinces Street in Edinburgh.

The company is investingup to £0.5m in the upscaleproperty in Frederick Street,on the corner of touristhotspot Rose Street. Theformer Santander buildingwill house the mosttechnically advancedequipment and will offerhearing care as well asoptical services.

The new practice is thelatest in the Glasgow-basedcompany’s 25-strongbranch network in Scotland,and is the pinnacle of a

Flagship practice openedin Edinburgh

Expertise added toGOC committees

Newsbrief

Mark Ross, Black & Lizars CE

financial year ending inSeptember that has seen anincreased turnover ofaround £14m.

Mark Ross, chief executiveof Black & Lizars, said: “Weare benefitting from the factthat our technology is a lotmore advanced than mostof our competitors, withwide retinal scanners builtby Optos in Scotland. Wealso have industry-leadingstaff continuity. Seeing thesame staff is important forregular customers,encouraging high loyaltyand repeat business. AllBlack & Lizars staff arequalified or going throughqualifications – evendispensing staff. This doesn’thappen with most of ourcompetitors.” n

Dispensing optician, GlennTomison, has beenappointed as a registrantmember of the GeneralOptical Council (GOC)Standards Committee.

As well as being a self-employed dispensingoptician, Glenn is a part-time clinical instructor andlecturer at the University ofManchester, a formerdirector of the OpticalConsumer ComplaintsService, co-chair of theOptical ConfederationEducation Committee, andchair of FODO.

His appointment, for a four-year term, comes at thesame time as optometristand former Boots Opticians

director, Richard Edwards,and Vision Express CEO,Jonathan Lawson, join theGOC CompaniesCommittee; and ProfessorHilary Tompsett, a registrantsocial worker, is appointed asa lay member of the GOC’sEducation Committee.

Gareth Hadley, GOC chair,said: “The advice of ouradvisory committees playsa vital role in enablingCouncil to make high-quality decisions. All fourappointees show atremendous depth andbreadth of experience andexpertise. I’m confident thatwe have filled ourcommittee vacancies withcandidates of the highestcalibre.” n

Back to School promotion

Arty kidseyewear competitionJoin in International Eyewear’s Back to School promotion

and invite young patients to colour in a branded postcard

for entry into a prize draw.

Prizes are available to both patients and practices. For the

optician, a hamper worth more than £200 is up for grabs,

and for patients a family day pass to an attraction or

theme park of their choice is on offer. As a thank you for

taking part in the promotion, International Eyewear will

send out a free A1 Back to School poster to brighten up

the practice window.

Keep up to date with the latest entries received by visiting

International Eyewear’s online ‘Hall of Fame’ on Facebook

and Twitter @I_EyewearUK n

VAO seeks nominationsand applicationsMembers of Vision AidOverseas (VAO) are beinginvited to nominate forHonorary Life Membership,presented to a member inrecognition of exemplarycommitment andcontribution to the aimsand ideals of the charity.

VAO trustees will considernominations ahead of itsAGM on 4 October. Tonominate, email [email protected] or write to David Scott-Ralphs, Vision Aid Overseas,

12 The Bell Centre, NewtonRoad, Crawley, West SussexRH10 9FZ.

VAO is also recruiting for twotrustees to join the board ofdirectors from October.More information aboutthese roles, including a jobdescription, can be foundon the jobs section atwww.visionaidoverseas.org.Current members arewelcome to apply andencouraged to informanyone they think would besuitable about the role. n

The ReadEZ system


Local football team sponsorship

Goals in plain sight

Helping to makereading easierIn collaboration withNorville Optical, ProfessorDavid Thomson andThomson Software Solutionshave developed theReadEZ system to helppatients experiencingMeares-Irlen syndrome.

Already in use in more than500 practices and schools,

the software is said toprovide a simple, efficientand cost-effective way ofdetermining the preferredcolour of tinted lenses andproviding these as colouredclip-ons for those whoalready wear spectacles, or as afocal spectacles and prescription lensspectacles. n

The World Cup may be done and dusted for another four years but football on a slightly smaller scale is still onthe agenda at independent practice, Edmonds and Slatter Opticians.

The practice is sponsoring the 2014/2015 season trainingjackets of Epworth Forest Junior Football Club. Partner, TimCole, commented: “We feel that investing a modestamount with the team shows community spirit and for theboys to have a reputable and recognisable local brandon their kits shows that they mean business.” n

Low-cost lens line extendedRodenstock has extended its net|line range of low-costlenses, allowing opticians to offer an even wider choice tocost-conscious customers.

Debbie Bathgate, Rodenstock’s lens product manager,said: “By providing opticians with an extended range ofkeenly-priced products at the economy end of themarket, they can offer customers a complete lens portfoliowhile still being able to provide them with the quality andexcellence for which Rodenstock is renowned.” n

School season offerThe collections are said to

offer a great choice of

more than 30 models in

acetate and metal, the

majority featuring flex joints

including the latest designs,

and targeting both young

children and fashion

conscience teenagers. n

Pennine Optical has

launched a Back to

School promotion allowing

customers to purchase

two for one on all orders

of 10 or more assorted

frames from its Street Kids

Eyewear and Wow Factor

collections.

The Cooper Companies hascompleted its acquisition of SauflonPharmaceuticals – a transactionvalued at approximately US$1.2bn –giving CooperVision the ability to offerthe most extensive range of dailydisposable contact lens optionsworldwide.

CooperVision said it was now workingto combine both companies’ people,processes and pipelines to build thebest possible customer and wearerexperience, adding that customersshould continue working with theirexisting CooperVision and Sauflonrepresentatives, support resources and

ordering mechanisms until advisedotherwise. n

Area newsNew topics and speakers at Area 5ABDO Area 5’s CET day at the ManorHotel, Meriden, on 29 September, willfeature new speakers and presentationsand offer members a total of eight ornine CET points over the day.

Speakers will include Wendy Sethi,Angela McNamee, Barry Duncan andKeith Cavaye. The aim is to offer at least six CET points via the presentations

covering the range of corecompetencies, as well as a two CETpoint poster quiz and a three CET pointCLO peer discussion.

The cost is £20 per ABDO member and £45 per non-member, whichincludes all lectures, coffee breaksthroughout the day and a hot/coldbuffet lunch. Places are limited to 180delegates and at the time of going topress, limited numbers were stillavailable. Email Ian Hardwick [email protected] to book.

Area 5’s next CET day will be on 2 March2015 at the Riverside Centre, Derby. n

New market opportunities commence

The College of Optometrists’research journal,Ophthalmic andPhysiological Optics (OPO),has increased its ImpactFactor rating from 1.74 to2.66, ranking it as 13th in thetop 58 internationalophthalmology, optometryand vision science journals.

This is the first time that OPOhas been in the top 20 andnow stands as the topoptometry journal in theworld, making it one of thekey sources for the latestscientific evidence in thefield of vision research.

Professor David Elliott, editor-in-chief of OPO, said: “Weare very proud to be able tosay that OPO is recognisedas a key resource foracademics, clinicians andresearchers in optometry,ophthalmology and visionscience, and pleased that

Journals see ImpactFactor rating rise

Conference call to city of dreaming spires

Newsbrief

The BCLA’s CLAE journal

the issues in the last coupleof years have been sosuccessful.”

At the same time, ContactLens & Anterior Eye (CLAE),the journal of the BritishContact Lens Association,has seen its Impact Factorrating rise from 1.5 to 2.0,ranking it 23rd out of 58related journals.

CLAE Editor-in-Chief, DrShehzad Naroo,commented: “‘Last year ourImpact Factor improvedfrom 1.421 to 1.5 and wewere ranked 29th out of theophthalmology relatedjournals that have an ImpactFactor. Our aim for this yearwas to get into the top half,and we managed to do thatwith a new Impact Factor of2.0. We are extremelypleased with this result andhope to build on it for thefuture.” n

The Association forIndependent Optometristsand Dispensing Opticians(AIO) is inviting all DOs and OOs to its annualconference at the OxfordSpires Four Pillars hotel on 12October, with the chance togain up to 24 CET points.

Lectures from eight eminentspeakers will range throughsubjects of clinical, audit,tear physiology, instrumentaland refractive interest, whileworkshops on paediatricdispensing, cornealtopography, OCT in actionand VRICS will be enhancedby poster sessions from

Alcon and ABDO, along with peer discussion.

An exhibition will besupported by Topcon,Optos, No 7 Contact Lenses,the National Eyecare Group,William Morris London,Alcon, Eyeplan, Norville,Seiko and Replicate Retina.A fun social programme willinclude a private visit toBlenheim Palace, with a‘Back to the 70s’ themedgala dinner and Bee Geestribute band.

For more details and online booking visit www.afio.co.uk n

Open invitation to AIO conference

New eye education appThe new Eye Education app from Johnson & JohnsonVision Care allows practitioners to access accredited 10minute bite-size learning in a couple of taps via theirsmartphone or tablet device.

Marcella McParland, Johnson & Johnson Vision Caredirector, professional affairs, UK & Ireland, said: “We knowthat eyecare professionals are increasingly digitally-minded, with most of them already using mobile devices inboth their professional and personal lives. We also knowthat they are busier than ever, often juggling multiplepatient and practice demands with the need to completemandatory CET. This new Eye Education app is the smartway to obtain those all-important CET points.” n

• The financial indicators are neutral for the first half

of 2014 compared with the same period in 2013

• Practice turnover decreased from May by six

Index points to 172

• Total eye examinations reduced by two per cent

over the first half year compared to 2013

• The value of solutions sold is 22 per cent higher

than June last year at 96 Index points

• The percentage of spectacles dispensed with

photo chromic lenses has increased by four

percentage points from June last year to 16

per cent

Optician Index - June 2014 summary

The full June 2014 Optician Index report was published in theFriday 25 July 2014 issue of Optician


During this year’s spring clean, I

found an article from The Times,

dated 1998 and entitled, ‘Starring role

for the fashion spectacles’, in which I

was quoted saying: “A suit costs

thousands of pounds and spends 80

per cent of its time in the wardrobe.

People are reluctant to spend very

much time or money on their glasses,

yet they are on their face most of the

time”. I think I might have been a bit

ambitious with the cost of the suit but it

got across my message.

In ES Magazine earlier this year, there

was an advertisement promotion for

Tom Davies’ new practice in Sloane

Square. He said in the article: “Why do

sophisticated people spend serious

money on suits or shoes they wear a

few times a year, but only part with the

minimum for an accessory that affects

the way they look every day?”

Despite the 16-year gap, these two

statements convey exactly the same

message – a message it seems that

has singularly failed to get through.

Considering the new materials and

engineering techniques applied to

spectacle frames, not to mention the

changes in styling and design over

that time, it is quite appalling that the

attitude to their eyewear shown by the

spectacle-wearing public has not

changed one iota. At whose door do

we lay the blame for this parlous state

of affairs?

There are admittedly a few practices

that promote the latest frame styles

and cater for the ‘specaholics’ who

insist on a wardrobe of eyewear for

different moods and occasions. Most

practices probably have a couple of

clients who break the ‘one pair fits all’

mould, but as a rule, spectacle

wearers are rarely encouraged to buy

multiple pairs. Over the years, I have

been involved with a number of

special in-practice promotions for

particular ranges of frames and, with

the support of the manufacturer, they

work really well.

We, as a profession and industry, owe it

to the spectacle wearers to promote

the spectacle frame as a fashion

accessory, demonstrating how

different styles can both enhance and

change their whole look, giving them

the confidence in themselves and to

experiment and view eyewear as an

exciting purchase rather than a dreary

utility. The fact that their spectacles do

also help them see clearly, and thus

complete their daily tasks and enjoy

their hobbies to the full, must be a win-

win situation.

Promoting eyewear as fashionOne of the greatest myths that the

profession has done little to dispel is

that spectacles are expensive, which

has not exactly been countered by

the constant advertising of ‘buy one

get one free’. Spectacles are not

expensive, but a similar price to a pair

of designer shoes and a great deal less

than a suit hanging in the wardrobe.

People will happily spend serious

money on their hobbies, a new golf

club for example. Golf clubs can only

be used for a single activity but a pair

of golf sunglasses with the special tint

to see the bumps in the green can also

be used for other things. So which is

more expensive?

If we accept that our role as

professionals is to ensure that our clients

get the best eyecare, there is no reason

why spectacles cannot be promoted

as an accessory both in terms of

fashion and for a special purpose. On

my visits to this year’s optical shows –

ABDO Kenilworth, 100% Optical and

Optrafair London – I was delighted to

see the stunning variety of spectacle

frames on offer. What a shame the

public have no idea of the range of

choice open to them, since in most

optical practices the range of styles is

severely limited. This is not helped by

manufacturers’ edicts about which

models have to be stocked and is

further exacerbated by excessive

caution shown by the frame buyers.

Of course, it is impossible to stock

everything when space and budgets

are limited, but merely opting for what

the representative tells us are the 10

bestsellers, with no reference to the

demographics, tastes and lifestyles of

Are we beingmyopic abouteyewear?

The public’s attitude to their eyewear has notchanged one iota, writes an appalled Ian Anderson

Ian Anderson

Disjointed jottings from a DO’s desk . . .

our own client base, is admitting

defeat from the outset. With careful,

well-informed buying, a range of

fashionable and stylish frames can be

a great success; clients would be more

inclined to get another pair, or pairs,

for when they want to project a less

assertive image. We send out reminders

for eye exams, so why not keep our

spectacle wearers informed about

new eyewear with invitations to view

“our new spring/autumn collection”?

I would also be interested to know if

the fashion press are invited to these

optical shows. If so, they might be

encouraged to write more about

frames and feature them in their

fashion shoots. The Sunday magazine

of a newspaper I get regularly very

rarely has a frame in a fashion shoot,

but a couple of weeks ago they had

four; I had to sit down and have a

large coffee to get over the shock.

Unfortunately, that old chestnut, ‘Boys

don’t make passes at girls who wear

glasses’, lingers on, but if the fashion

press were enlisted as potential allies,

more spectacles would feature in the

fashion mags, thus helping us promote

and sell our wares.

Making more of an impact

While it is very supportive of the frame

manufacturers to promote their new

models to optical practices with point-

of-sale material and free gifts, what

about advertising direct to the public?

It is done very successfully by some

companies with astute ‘product

placement’, and getting celebrities to

wear their frames and sunglasses, but I

believe direct advertising would have

an even greater impact.

Before we dismiss this as too expensive,

why not fund it by cutting down on

those ‘sweeteners’? While we

opticians are, of course, the

manufacturer’s immediate customers,

it is myopic in the extreme for them to

stop inducing us to buy with the offer

of a discount or free gift, rather than

maximising sales for all of us by

publicising their products among the

people who will end up wearing them,

thereby creating a demand.

If I found more people beating a path

to my door for a particular frame after

seeing it advertised, I would be happy

to forego up-front discounts, as I would

make money on both the frame and

the lenses that go into it. I have seen

late-night TV ads for a 99 pence pizza.

How many of them must they sell to

get their money back? Undoubtedly,

the profit on a decent pair of

spectacle frames is a lot greater than

on a 99 pence pizza.

Let’s hope that things will eventually

change and that I don’t find an article

in a newspaper or magazine saying

the same thing another 16 years down

the line. Although by then I probably

won’t be capable of reading anyway!

Ian Anderson FBDO is chairman of

ABDO Area 11 (London), and a locum

optician. n

A ‘Spectacular Selfie’ campaign run by Greenslades Opticians in Weston-super-Mare,an eye health awareness initiative for SeeAbility employees and the Fight for SightCarrot NightWalks are just some of the events being planned to support National EyeHealth Week (NEHW) from 22 to 28 September.

Each day during NEHW 2014 there is a specific focus or theme designed to resonatewith key audiences. Themes running throughout the week include, smoking and sightloss, women’s eye health, sight after 60, and nutrition and the eye. A timetable ofevents can be found at www.visionmatters.org, where practices can register to takepart and receive a free resource pack containing leaflets, posters, promotionalmaterials, balloons and a series of exclusive recipe cards featuring dishes rich in ‘eye-friendly nutrients’.

Additional resource materials available to download include kids activity sheets,template press releases and an events handbook to help plan events for staff, customersor in the local community. Registered activities will be featured in the official eventlisting on the website and promoted on the NEHW Twitter feed @MyVisionMatters and inthe national and local press.

David Cartwright, chair of NEHW, said: “National Eye Health Week is a unique event that provides an invaluableopportunity for the whole ocular sector to come together to encourage more people to visit their optometrist for a routinesight test. By working in partnership to highlight the benefits of having regular eye checks and illustrating how lifestylefactors can contribute to eye disease, we can improve the UK’s eye health, contribute towards a reduction in avoidableblindness and enhance people’s everyday lives.”

For the latest news and information about the Week plus details of a new official NEHW magazine – Vista – follow thecampaign on Twitter. n

National Eye Health Week calling for your support


Letter to the Editor

n I have a question forDispensing Optics FAQcolumnist, Kim Devlin…

It’s well and truly summerseason and we have hadan influx of kids wanting Rxsunglasses. This is not aproblem if they are payingprivately. However, in thelast two weeks we’ve hadthree outside Rxs with NHSvouchers, with the parentsrequesting to use thevoucher towards the Rxsunnies – not wanting tochange the current clearpair. None of the vouchershave specified a tint forclinical reasons.

Would I be allowed toproceed and claim theissued voucher against asun Rx pair? Whilst aphotochromic pair might beacceptable, I’ve understoodhistorically that a ‘full/dark’tint is not permitted. Yourviews would be appreciated.Rob Eatwell FBDOHorsham n

Kim Devlin repliesThank you for writing toDispensing Optics with yourquery. This is a bit of apuzzler isn’t it? Firstly, wemust encourage parents toequip their children withgood UV protection and themessage certainly seems tobe getting across, with moreand more requests forchildren’s sunspecs, bothwith and without Rx. The realproblem is the use of thevoucher for such specs.A voucher is issued after aNHS sight test to those withinthe entitled groups, mostnotably children under 16 orunder 19 in full-time

education. There are twopossibilities: either there hasbeen a change inprescription; or thespectacles need replacingunder fair wear and tear. Ifthe optometrist feels a tint isneeded clinically, thevoucher would be tickedappropriately.

The use of spectacles for sunprotection is not covered bythe voucher scheme but Isee no conflict to use avoucher as part paymentfor such spectacles, with aphotochromatic tint forexample. Such a pair ofspectacles would fulfill therequirements of the schemeand give sun protection.

However, I do not thinksupplying Rx sun spectaclesto the exclusion of clearspectacle lenses ispermissible under thescheme. If the patient has aserviceable pair ofspectacles, why would avoucher be issued? If theuntinted spectacles are no longer correct, they must be updated ratherthan use the voucher forsunspecs. The patient musthave both clear lenses as well as dark sunprotection lenses. It’s arather delicate point, but I feel if an audit werecarried out, the NHS wouldtake the view that thevoucher had been used in an improper way. I hope this is of help to youand thank you for raising the issue for other members,who might not yet haveencountered the problem.Kim Devlin FBDO (Hons) CLEssex n

Frequently asked questionsanswered by Kim Devlin FBDO (Hons) CL

Repairing/replacing children’s framesA member phoned in with a query about repairing children’sspectacles. Our member had a relative, not local to her, with achild wearing spectacles; their local optician refused to changethe child’s specs because he wasn’t due to have a sight test despitethe child having outgrown the glasses, which were causing himconsiderable discomfort. She was querying if that was correct.

This certainly makes you think: what are the regulations? Sincethe demise of the PCT and the installing of commissioningbodies, I think we all rather wonder what is and isn’t allowed.ABDO has on its website a very informative document,‘Making accurate claims’. This is extremely useful and althoughlong and complex, it does answer many queries.

This particular case is slightly more complicated and requirescareful consideration. The exact circumstances are unknown,but it was an interesting point.

We don’t know who said what in this particular circumstance,but I suspect the refusal may have come from a member ofthe support staff rather than a registered DO. We have alldrilled our staff to cross-question patients as to NHSeligibility to ensure claims are not refused when submitted forpayment, and some may take their instructions too literally.

You can imagine the scenario: “Wayne’s specs are cutting hisears, he needs a bigger frame”. To which the reply would be:“He’s not due for three months, there’s nothing I can do”. Theparent would assume that was that and the optical assistantwould not appreciate the importance of a child’s frame fittingcorrectly. It’s the classic breakdown in communication.

What might a registered dispensing optician have been able tooffer in that situation? With the full records at their disposal,a DO could judge from the clinical notes whether a change inprescription was likely to be imminent or if, perhaps, the sighttest was usually six-monthly and this was the first time a 12-month interval had occurred. Children’s growth patterns vary;mostly it goes in spurts, adding inches in weeks or no changein size at all for months.

Is it then, in your professional judgement, necessary to testthe child’s sight earlier than had been recommended, as thespectacles were no longer suitable? Or is the prescriptionunlikely to have changed, but it is simply that the child hasgrown out of their frames? A conversation with the originalprescriber might be useful; asking if, in the circumstances, theyfeel an early recheck is advisable.

If the consensus is that an early retest is unnecessary, a GOS4can be issued to replace the spectacles that are no longerserviceable. This entire decision is for you, as the professional,to consider, putting the welfare of the patient first. Although Ioften find a phone call to the relevant person at the NHS, toconfirm your actions is appreciated as a courtesy.

The satisfying part of our job is that no two cases are thesame; we have to use our professional judgement on so manyoccasions to best serve our patients.

Kim Devlin is chair of ABDO's Advice and GuidelinesWorking Group n

Children’s Rx sunnies poser

Any queries members have can be raised in DispensingOptics or by contacting the membership servicesdepartment direct on 01227 733 902 / 01227 733 912 /01227 733 922 or by emailing [email protected]

Diary of events

Unless otherwise stated, details of all ABDO events and booking can be found atwww.abdo.org.uk/events. ABDO members are welcome to attend Area meetings

in any Area they wish

dispensingoptics

www.abdo.org.uk

The Professional Journal of the Associationof British Dispensing Opticians

Volume 29 Number 8 of 12

EDITORIAL STAFFEditor Sir Anthony Garrett CBE HonFBDOAssistant Editor Jane BurnandManaging Editor Nicky CollinsonEmail [email protected] and Production Ros ArgentEmail [email protected] Manager Deanne GrayEmail [email protected]

EDITORIAL/ADVERTISINGTelephone 0781 273 4717Email [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONSUK £140 Overseas £150, including postageApply to Tom VetiABDO, Godmersham Park, GodmershamKent CT4 7DTTelephone 01227 733922Email [email protected]

ABDO CETCET Coordinator Paula Stevens MA ODE BSc(Hons)

MCOptom FBDO CL (Hons)AD SMC(Tech)

ABDO CET, 5 Kingsford Business Centre, LayerRoad, Kingsford, Colchester CO2 0HTTelephone 01206 734155Email [email protected] [email protected]

CONTINUING EDUCATION REVIEW PANELJoanne 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 COMMITTEERichard 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

Dispensing Optics is published byABDO, 199 Gloucester Terrace, London W2 6LD

Dispensing Optics is printed byLavenham Press, Lavenham, Suffolk CO10 9RN

© ABDO No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form orby any means whatever without the written priorpermission of the publishers

Dispensing Optics welcomes contributions forpossible editorial publication. However,contributors warrant to the publishers that theyown all rights to illustrations, artwork orphotographs submitted and also to copy whichis factually accurate and does not infringe anyother party’s rights

ISSN 0954 3201

Average circulation 2013: 9133 per issue - ABDOBoard certification

5 OctoberArea 3 (North West and Isle of Man) -CET day, Chill Factore, Manchester6 OctoberVision Arena, Liverpool - Visitwww.visionarena.co.uk 10-13 OctoberAIO Conference 2014, Oxford -www.afio.co.uk23-24 OctoberNOC 2014 - Hilton BirminghamMetropole Hotel. Contact the eventsteam at the AOP on 020 7549 2062 oremail [email protected] October30th Biennial Convention of theInternational Opticians Association -Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia. Visit www.ioaoptician.org27 & 28 OctoberJ&J Vision Care - ‘Practice madeperfect – bringing it all together’, two-day course at the Vision Care Institute,Wokingham. For details visit www.thevisioncareinstitute.co.uk/tvci-courses3 & 4 NovemberVision Arena, Windsor - Visitwww.visionarena.co.uk5 NovemberNystagmus Network’s WobblyWednesday campaign - For aninformation pack, [email protected] & 17 NovemberNational Eyecare Group - ‘Building forsuccess’ conference, East MidlandsConference Centre. Visitwww.nationaleyecare.co.uk19 NovemberABDO President’s Consultation Day -Aston Business School, Birmingham.Email [email protected] confirm a place by 31 October23 NovemberSCLOSS (Scottish Contact Lens &Ocular Surface Society) course -Radisson Blue Hotel, Glasgow. Visitwww.opticalcet.co.uk26 NovemberABDO - Graduation and Prize GivingCeremony, Canterbury Cathedral30 January 2015Nystagmus Network professionalstraining day - [email protected] February 2015100% Optical - ExCel, London. Visitwww.100percentoptical.com 18-20 April 2015Optrafair - NEC Birmingham.www.optrafair.co.uk n

14 SeptemberArea 8 (Wessex) - CET day andstudent revision day, DonningtonGrove Hotel, Newbury14 SeptemberSouth Wales Regional OpticalCommittee (SWWROC) CET day -University of Wales Trinity St David. Visitwww.getperceptive.com/conferences16 September ABDO Golf Society - Stercks MartinSalver competition, Horsley LodgeGolf Club and Hotel, Derbyshire. Fordetails or to join the ABDO GolfSociety contact Mike Stokes [email protected] SeptemberArea 1 (North) - CET evening (up to sixCET points), Premier Inn, Carlisle. [email protected] SeptemberArea 11 (London) - CET evening (up tosix CET points), Holiday Inn, Bloomsbury18 SeptemberArea 7 (West Country) - CET day,Future Inn, Plymouth. Contact DebbieAnderson at [email protected] SeptemberArea 12 (Scotland) - Gala Dinner,Edinburgh Castle21 SeptemberArea 12 (Scotland) - CET event andexhibition, Holiday Inn, Edinburgh.Open to all members.22 SeptemberArea 10 (Kent) - CET evening, Queen’s Inn, Hawkhurst, Kent. [email protected] SeptemberNational Eye Health Week - Visitwww.visionmatters.org.uk 24 SeptemberBCLA - Presidential Address with SusanBowers. Royal College of Physicians.www.bcla.org.uk 26-29 SeptemberSilmo 2014, Paris - Visit www.silmo.fr28 SeptemberArea 4 (East Anglia) - CET day.Radisson Blu Hotel, Stansted Airport,Essex. Up to 18 CET points available.Email [email protected] 29 SeptemberArea 5 (Midlands) - CET day, ManorHotel, Meridan, Solihull. For details andbooking [email protected] 2 OctoberArea 7 (West Country) - CET day,Aztec Hotel & Spa, Bristol. Email JudithSearle at [email protected]

Please check event details online for up-to-date information atwww.abdo.org.uk

Stepper UKEyewear Fashion That Fits

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