The National Health Service
1948 1948 1940s 38 pages treatment, has been done by ophthalmic opticians who, though qualified experts, are not doctors. This situation cannot be changed at once, because the necessary resources are lacking, but the Government aim to bring sight-testing right into the hospital service as rapidly as...
| Main Author: | |
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| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
London : His Majesty's Stationery Office
1948
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/8273BDE4-82C5-421C-B4CB-78AB766B277E http://hdl.handle.net/10796/8258924B-2DD0-4104-83DC-B6CF9247A1EC |
| Summary: | 1948
1948
1940s
38 pages
treatment, has been done by ophthalmic opticians who, though qualified experts, are not doctors. This situation cannot be changed at once, because the necessary resources are lacking, but the Government aim to bring sight-testing right into the hospital service as rapidly as possible, with special eye departments and clinics in the charge of medical specialists (ophthalmologists) and with opticians on the staff. Spectacles would then be obtained either directly from the clinics or, on the prescription provided, from opticians working in their own shops. There is already a nucleus of a hospital eye service in various parts of the country ; but until this can be built up, area by area, 'supplementary ophthalmic services' are arranged by the Executive Councils, each council having a special committee for the purpose.* The first step for anyone troubled about his eyes is to go to his family doctor. If the doctor advises a sight test, he will give a certificate enabling the patient to visit someone qualified to make the test. This expert may be a doctor with special ophthalmic qualifications and experience or a non-medical ophthalmic optician. (There are local lists of 'ophthalmic medical practitioners' and of ophthalmic opticians.) If spectacles are prescribed, they will be supplied by any optician who dispenses spectacles.† If treatment of some other kind seems necessary, a report will go to the family doctor, who will then advise his patient on the next step. After getting his first pair of spectacles the patient can go straight to the ophthalmic doctor or ophthalmic optician for further tests when he thinks he may need a change of glasses. Spectacles are supplied without charge in a reasonable variety of styles. Those who want a spare pair will have to pay for them, and those who prefer spectacles outside the free range can get certain more expensive kinds by paying the extra cost. People who lose their spectacles at any time or who break them within two years will have to pay for replacement or repair, unless they can prove that they have not been careless. After two years a further sight test will be necessary before replacement or repair ; the Ophthalmic Services Committee will make inquiries in any case where they think there may have been carelessness, and if this is proved the patient will still have to pay. * The Local Ophthalmic Services Committee in general has nine members of the Executive Council (one being a doctor) and seven members appointed by professional organisations — three doctors experienced in eye-testing, three ophthalmic opticians, and one dispensing optician. † Most ophthalmic opticians also dispense, but some opticians who dispense are not qualified to test vision. 31
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |