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10 July 2012
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Mr M R Blackstone
July 13 2012 (08:53)
The video on school sight was better than nothing. However, in my opinion, there should have been a greater stress on that there are other motor visual difficulties that affect children's and adult's ability to learn. I was devastated when I examined a boy aged 14, who was referred to us by his school, who had been "tested?" last month at a multiple. He had poor convergence and poor accommodation – yet this had not been picked up in his June "test?". Obviously the optician had not fulfilled his/her professional obligations.
Mrs A M Fletcher
July 26 2012 (18:11)
Why does the head teacher say that they can accommodate "special needs"? The implication is that just requiring a correction becomes a special need – not really a point of view I wish to encourage. Also the teacher says examinations should be every one to two years, not the one year that is recommended.
Polly Dulley
August 3 2012 (12:11)
This video is an introduction to children’s eye care to encourage optometrists to see children as part of normal optometry practice. We all have a responsibility to highlight visual problems and if we do not have the expertise to correct these, we should refer on to colleagues who specialise in these areas. The video is designed to be an overview and as such cannot squeeze in the full breadth of children’s vision testing, examination and therapy that is available. When almost half the children in the UK have never visited an optometrist for an eye examination, it is important to highlight the need for basic eyecare; it was certainly not intended to ignore the very obvious need to diagnose and treat the many other children’s eye problems encountered on a daily basis. We do however hope to broaden our CET provision in the future and this will enable us to explore more specialist areas in greater detail.
The head teacher’s comments about special needs are her own and arise from an educational background and the range of pupils at the school, not specifically to vision problems. It is heartening to hear a school being so inclusive and supportive of children who need greater support and suggests an awareness amongst the staff that they could spot an under-achieving child who just needs an eye exam and glasses to reach their full potential.
In relation to children’s eye test intervals, the GOS Minimum Intervals (see Vouchers at a Glance for reference) for under 16’s is one year (unless there is a binocular vision anomaly or rapidly progressing myopia, which may necessitate six monthly test intervals) but this may not be relevant, for example, for a child or teenager who has had their eyes tested, is emmetropic and has emmetropic parents. These intervals are minimums for GOS 1 coding purposes and not set intervals for NHS eye tests for children. The test interval is always a professional decision made by the optometrist based on the patient’s clinical need.