Dispensing Optics - ABDO

34 dispensingoptics July 2009
Huntly Taylor and Simon Adlam
New chairman of
SMC Society
Huntly Taylor FBDO recently became chairman of the
Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers Society at their
dinner which this year took place on board HMS Warrior
1860 in Portsmouth Harbour. Outgoing chairman, Simon
Adlam, installed Huntly after the dinner.
Huntly is a trustee of ABDO College and was a member of
ABDOs Council for 12 years and runs his own independent
practice in Brighton - the home of this year’s ABDO
Conference and Exhibition October 3-5. ■
Letter to the Editor
Stop wasting time and money
It’s not the name of our Association
that is the problem, but the lack of
public awareness of the worth of a
dispensing optician. If we all
conducted a survey asking the
public what an optometrist, optician
and dispensing optician all did,
some would know the optometrist
tested eyes, all would know an
optician tested eyes and few would
know what a dispensing optician
did! And there lies our problem.
We could consider changing our
Association name to the British
Association of Opticians. We would
then all become opticians and the
public would understand our
function. Right? No, I don’t think so;
they would all assume we tested
eyes!
We have all done it when asked
what we do for a living. We reply,
“I’m a dispensing optician”, and
then receive a blank look and
spend the next five minutes
describing our function. But when we
really cannot be bothered, we say
we are an optician. This is
automatically followed up with
Eyewear look-book
Directory brings
ranges together
Norville’s new 82-page frame
directory brings together a
host of new designer names
and some firm favourites. It
features the latest fashion
frames for young women
from Bebe, elegantly
sparkling jewel looks from
Laura Ashley and a host of
exciting designer names
questions about the health of the
eye, assuming we examine eyes.
Why go to all the trouble and
considerable expense of changing
our name when the public would be
no better informed? Some could
argue they are being deceived.
What our Association should be
doing, and should have done for
years, is to embark on a sustained
public relations campaign to raise
the public awareness of a
dispensing optician and our worth.
This would be a long, slow process
and we would all need to
participate at a local level. It would
need constant press releases to the
national and local media, produced
by professional journalists on any
aspect eyewear and eyecare and
always promoting the benefit of a
dispensing optician. We would also
need to engage the support of the
optical manufactures, especially our
frame and lens suppliers,
encouraging them when advertising
and promoting in the public domain
to seek the advice of a dispensing
optician. The support of contact lens
including Jeff Banks and posh
frock designer, Vera Wang.
Also in the spotlight are
details of the latest Polaroid
sun collection, further
additions to the Columbia
range and new styles in the
Norville Collection. For a
copy of the directory, call
01452 510332. ■
suppliers could also be sought in a
similar manner – after all, more
contact lenses are fitted in the UK
by dispensing opticians than by
optometrists.
We would in due time see the
public asking and expecting to be
dispensed by a dispensing optician
and not an optical assistant. This
would create a demand for our
services. Multiples that currently
have the shortsighted policy of
employing optical assistants instead
of dispensing opticians would be
persuaded by public demand to
reconsider. We would be in demand
and valued by the public and our
employers, and finally we would
see our salaries increase.
So come on our elected directors –
stop wasting time and our
subscriptions talking about name
changes. Let’s get on with the job of
promoting to the public the value of
having your spectacles dispensed
by a dispensing optician. A title I’m
very proud to hold.
Clive Marchant FBDO, Walsall ■