VV V

NEWS
26
ABDO has appointed the inaugural members of its newly formed National
Clinical Committee (NCC). With ABDO vice president, Clive Marchant, acting
as chair, the new NCC members are: Nick Black, Mark Chatham, Scott
Mackie, Daryl Newsome, Rupesh Patel and Alexandra Webster. ABDO head
of policy and development, Barry Duncan, will act as NCC secretariat, with
ABDO director of professional examinations, Alicia Thompson, also serving
on the committee. The new ABDO regional and sub-regional leads will be
announced in September.
Nick Walsh
27
Association of British
Dispensing Opticians
Meanwhile Kevin Gutsell, Daryl Newsome and
Rupesh Patel have been elected to the ABDO
board for the next three years, while Nick
Walsh will join the Association in November
in the newly-created role of sector skills
development officer. Nick, currently head of
ophthalmic lenses and dispensing (UK,
Ireland, Netherlands, Spain) at Specsavers,
will have responsibility for promoting all
qualifications offered by both ABDO and the
Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers.
The new Esprit optical
collection for tweens and
teens, available from
Charmant, utilises highquality
materials from thin
metal to colourful acetate up
to ultralight ultem and TR90.
Both bright and milky-soft
Ultem frames for active youngsters
colour pops enrich the muted
tones of grey, caramel and purple across all the Esprit spring/summer
collections. Esprit’s ultem frames for active young ladies come with a softly
rounded front with colour blockings composed of: dark red energised by
fuchsia temples, shiny black with raspberry-red temples, dark green
matched with bright ocean green temples, and rich purple with tempering
white temples (pictured).
28
Ben Miles
Charmant
Vision Care for
Homeless People
British actor Ben Miles has been speaking
out in support of Vision Care for Homeless
People in his role as parton. He said: “Vision
Care for Homeless People is an organisation
that I am very, very proud to be associated
with. For many years now, VCHP has been
quietly, constantly, providing a life changing
experience for countless people who would
otherwise have no opportunity to improve
their sight. One of the many impressive things
I have noticed about VCHP is its dynamism
and logistical excellence. Their ability to
work together as a team and in tandem
with volunteers and the many optical
companies who donate so much is superb.”
AN INDEPENDENT VIEW
Independents Code goes live
The AIO has been working for many months on
its new quality mark for differentiating the
best providers of long-term eye health care on
the High Street. The Independents Code (IC)
will go live in the first 10 pioneer subscriber
practices in September, October and November,
with tailored launch plans for each of their
communities and patient catchments areas.
The launch plans will include interaction with
local healthcare providers, schools, colleges,
service clubs, sports clubs and other important
stakeholders such as local optical committees
and clinical commissioning groups. There will
also be media plans to include local radio,
newspapers, journals and local directories that
will help to raise awareness amongst the
general public that long-term eye health is best
served by comprehensive eye examinations
delivered by quality independent practices.
The IC is a meaningful quality code that
subscribers must live up to in their day-to-day
practices; it is not a simple ‘badging’ exercise in
return for paying a fee. To oversee the code, and
assist practices in living up to the standards, an
independent regulator has been created called
the IC Oversight Board (ICOB).
The ICOB is chaired by Julian Jackson, the wellknown
figure in optics who is passionate about
the delivery of the highest quality eyecare, and
the ICOB will have a majority of public interest
directors, including Angela Newton who has
spent many years at Which?, the renowned
consumer advocate. There will also be professional
members on the board to bring the voice of the
subscribing practices to the table.
The launch of the IC does not represent an
instant revolution for changing the shape of
independent practice, rather it is the start of a
long-term and sustainable programme of
building public awareness about the eyecare
choices that are available on the High Street.
14
Vision Now AUGUST 2016