BREAKING NEWS: Our breaking news is that Bob Hughes has left the AOP. Read more here.
Apart from that, LOCSU provides our main headlines this past week with a two night; two day meeting that saw one of the biggest gatherings at what used to be an AOP event but is now very much in the auspices of The Optical Confederation.
These events are as always bolstered by the Optical manufacturing industry and many companies were present throughout the 2 days, some continuing on through the Hospital practitioner’s conference over the weekend.
A new highlight was the Black Tie dinner held especially to honour those nominated in a number of fields and we report on the winner of the “Best suppliers Company” and about one of our favourite charities among many we support with free pages, winning the Charity of the Year award.
Overall the meeting and the dinner were deemed a great success by the organisers although some attending thought the lectures a little weak in content and not focussed enough on issues affecting Optics and practitioners. In a key note speech from the LOCSU chairman there was a call to action at a local level in a time when Optics has an opportunity to make its voice heard. This was a theme that was re-inforced by many other speakers. Another plea being made in this world of evidence-based services was the need for better national statistical collection of actions & outcomes, a job surely for the IT industry to provide a simple collection system. This would put us ahead of the numbers game as both GP surgeries and secondary care facilities fail greatly in this area.
Other news provides us with some personnel changes at Silhouette with a new sales director arriving from Austria. Meanwhile as Rodenstock members celebrate 20 years since its inception, another lucky group of members are taken to Silverstone Race Track. A busy fortnight all round for Rodenstock who concluded a busy period with the launch of a new lens described as “anything but standard”.
Conference papers, posters and photos are required for the BCLA and time is getting tight for the deadline. We finish with an interesting report on a study of the improving effects of Zeaxanthin on the visual capabilities of the elderly and those with AMD.
Keep your stories coming in please to info@primaryhealthnet.com .We are particularly keen to hear from LOCs and optical leads about their success stories in commissioning as well as any horror stories! And if any areas are successfully providing new services to the public we can report on our public site stories affecting the public in your area. We suggest that LOCs should commit one person to the task of keeping the public aware of what Optometry can provide in their area, and we can provide the numbers visiting www.mylocaloptician.co.uk to read about your services.
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