Dispensing Optics - ABDO

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28 dispensingoptics July 2009 Gabrielle Dark 4248 the schools’ data. You will be contacted later to pick a school in your area to visit ( or schools if there are more than one ). If there are no participating schools in your area, you will still have the facilities available in order to go in and speak to the children and staff. You will be able to contact your local school and Optician Index April 2009 summary encourage them to participate and sign up for the teaching resources. Registering couldn’t be easier All you need to do to register is: 1. Contact the ABDO membership department by phone on 01227 733922/912/902 2. Email: membership@abdo.org.uk 3. Register your interest online by going to the online survey section of the online secure area To avoid Data Protection issues, when you register your interest, you must give: • Your name • Practice details, including postcode • Please also mention that you agree to us passing on your details to the scheme provider so that they can contact you with further information once schools who have requested a pack have been identified. They will also want to put your details on a special website so that schools April was a better month overall as most figures improve over March’s results. However, the general picture compared to last year is of lower value sales and less activity, except for new contact lens fits which have improved a little. Although the number of eye examinations (primarily NHS) are holding up well, the volume of dispensing is still falling, resulting in a drop in dispensing rate from last year. Progressive lenses take the biggest tumble, accounting for 19% of all dispensing in April 2007, now just 16%. • Almost a 1% on average increase in the total number of eye examinations over the last year • Compared to last spring there is a slight increase in the proportion of NHS tests from 70% to nearer 72% • Dispensing is down by 9% over the year, though single vision sales remain steady • Since eye examinations are holding well, and dispensing has declined, dispensing rate can be seen to fall from 67% to 59% this April • AR coats are down 10% on average over the year, but have improved from March by 18% • Proportion of dispensing which are a re-glaze is 12%, on average across the sample • New contact lens fits improve by 7% from March, and 3% from last April • Average sales value per eye examination has fallen £6 this month to £132.60 • Total turnover is down from last April by 14%, though up by 2% from March; overall growth over the year is negligible The full March 2009 Optician Index report was published in the 29 May issue of Optician. and parents can identify participating pratices in their areas. Should you wish to participate but find that no school has registered in your area, then you will still be given the information so that you can contact your local school and encourage them to join the scheme and invite you in! Roland Allen, business director for Northern Europe at Transitions Optical, says: “Research that we have carried out recently shows that only 38 per cent of children visit the optometrist once every two years, whereas 92 per cent would visit the dentist over the same time period. This is an alarmingly low figure and that is why Transitions Optical is committed to spreading the word about the need for healthy sight, starting from school age children right up to their parents. We are very excited about the Transitions schools programme run in conjunction with the National Schools Partnership which will raise awareness of the importance of healthy sight as well as highlighting the dangers of UV exposure to the eyes. These issues will be brought into classes as diverse as Science, PSHE, English, History and D&T and via interactive content available on eyeknoweyecare.com. This is a dedicated website that Transitions is developing aimed at educating children aged 7 to 11 years about eye facts, the eye’s anatomy and visual impairments. It also includes fun eye exercises and explains what happens during an eye examination for both children and parents. “We hope that ABDO members will add value to this programme by signing up to present in schools to ‘demystify the eye test’ and encourage children to go and visit their local optician on a regular basis.“ ABDO President Barry Duncan has already sent a letter via email to members encouraging participation. We hope as many of you as possible will sign up in advance of August. Then, when the new term begins in September, we can allocate opticians to those schools who would like an optician to visit and present to the whole assembly about the importance of healthy sight. ■
Dr Sarah Janikoun (left) with Kate Johnson BCLA news This year’s BCLA Conference set a new record for attendance, as Vivien Freeman reports Record numbers of delegates made this year’s BCLA Clinical Conference and Exhibition the largest in its 33-year history. A total of 1073 delegates registered over the four days of the conference, held in Manchester from 28–31 May. This is the third successive year that the event has attracted more than 1000 delegates. Forty five companies had stands in the manufacturers’ exhibition, which this year moved to a larger area in the main hall of the Manchester Central complex. Including those who only attended the exhibition, there were an estimated 1500 visitors in total. The BCLA Conference is now established as the premier event for contact lens professionals in the UK and worldwide. Just over half (54 per cent) of those registered this year were from overseas. Delegates came from 45 countries, and the largest overseas delegations were from the USA and Denmark, New BCLA President William Thomas Delegates enjoying this year’s BCLA Conference followed by Germany and France. At Saturday evening’s Gala Dinner, the Glitter Ball, outgoing President Dr Sarah Janikoun handed her chain of office to William Thomas, who told delegates that his focus for the coming year would be to promote the benefits of BCLA membership to a wider audience. “We run the most successful and prestigious annual contact lens conference that regularly attracts the best speakers, and delegate numbers continue to break records year on year. We need to inform people of the benefits and opportunities that are available to them throughout the year by joining the BCLA,” he said. One example of these benefits is BCLA Pioneers Conference, which is free of charge and exclusive to members, and has already become a major event in its own right. A selection of lectures from this year’s Clinical Conference, as well as from previous years, is also available for members to watch online via the BCLA website. Awarded at the Gala Dinner were 21 new BCLA Fellowships, a mark of esteem in the field of contact lenses which allows recipients to use the letters FBCLA after their names. Former BCLA President Nigel Burnett Hodd, who organises the annual BCLA Pioneers events, received honorary life membership of the BCLA in recognition of his significant contribution to the Association. The BCLA’s annual general meeting was also held at the Conference, where it was announced that Keith Tempany and Keith Cavaye have been elected to the BCLA Council as contact lens optician representatives. The Association’s dispensing section will now be known as the contact lens optician (dispensing optician) section. CLO Shelly Bansal, previously meetings secretary, becomes this year’s President Elect. The next evening meeting will be the Presidential Newsbrief Address in London on 16 September, when William Thomas’s topic will be, ‘What have the manufacturers done for us?!’ with apologies to Monty Python and the Romans’. The lecture will be presented at events around the country during his year of office. The 2009 BCLA Pioneers Conference takes place in London on 26 November, where the 6th Pioneers Lecturer will be Dr Alan Saks (New Zealand). All BCLA members and new members joining before the event are welcome to attend. The 2010 BCLA Clinical Conference and Exhibition will be held in Birmingham from 27-30 May. Keynote speakers will be David Anderson (UK), Dr Suzi Fleiszig (USA) and Dr Cristina Kenney (USA). Dr Donald Korb (USA) will be the BCLA Medal Speaker and Dr Panagiotis Kallinikos (Greece) will deliver the Irving Fatt Memorial Lecture. For more information on BCLA events and how to join, visit www.bcla.org.uk, email jkelly@bcla.org.uk call +44 (0)207 580 6661. ■
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