Submitted by administrator on
It is not often that the EU or Europe has anything good to say about the UK, and in particular England. We certainly haven't gained many brownie points over the recent EU veto by David Cameron, our 'friends' and 'allies' across the channel have little time for our sporting teams and lets face it, talented or not, we shouldn't be expecting too many '12 points' from our European neighbours in Eurovision for the foreseeable future. So it comes as a great boost to hear that the way that our primary eye care is carried out is recognised and admired by our cousins on the continent.
In general, the lead for primary eye care in Europe is handled by ophthalmologists, notably in countries such as France. The issue for concern is the burden that an ever increasing population average age will have on resources following this model and that large increases in eye care professionals will be required to cater for this over the coming years. In countries such as Germany, a balance of responsibilities between both optometrists and ophthalmologists has safeguarded what would have been a highly fragile structure had optometrists not taken on essential primary care tasks.
However, in the UK, the model is slightly different, with optometrists taking a much more active role in primary eye care. Following studies by the European Council of Optometry and Optics, results indicate that this increased integration of optometrists shows a noticeable difference in cost-effectiveness while providing a safe solution and option. This structuring of primary eye care was labelled as 'necessary' by the commission. It is this direction and emphasis which has led to the study to applaud and congratulate the integration of optometry in this way inside the UK, recommending that other European countries follow suit.