ArticleOphthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists)2022
Scope of practice of optometrists working in the UK Hospital Eye Service: Second national survey.
Article in Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluation of the Community Urgent Eyecare Service in Greater Manchester, Including the Impact of Independent Prescribing.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026Article
- A Survey of Hospital Optometrists Performing Ophthalmic Laser Procedures in the United Kingdom.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026Article
- Evaluation of an allied health professionals-led keratoconus service in a tertiary UK centre.Eye (London, England) · 2026Article
- Assessment and management of dry eye disease in the UK: standardising reality-based best practice.Eye (London, England) · 2026Article
- Working Conditions of Employee Optometrists in Australia.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026Article
- National UK optometry clinical practice survey: implications for developing glaucoma services in primary care.Eye (London, England) · 2026Article
- The safety and effectiveness of optometrist-delivered selective laser trabeculoplasty.Eye (London, England) · 2025Article
- Rural Eye Care Access, Workforce Challenges and Opportunities: Perspectives of the Eye Health Workforce in Western Australia.The Australian journal of rural health · 2025Article
- A review of UK primary care pathways for acute ophthalmic conditions.Eye (London, England) · 2025Review
- Pharmaceutical Prescribing Privileges for Optometrists to Combat Childhood Myopia in Singapore: Public Health Policy Review and Analysis.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Comparative outcomes of selective laser trabeculoplasty delivered by optometrists compared with ophthalmologists: a UK-based multicentre observational study.BMJ open ophthalmology · 2024Observational
- Optometrist-delivered selective laser trabeculoplasty in the HES - a training protocol and early service evaluation.Eye (London, England) · 2024Article
- An evaluation of optometric advanced skills within a UK tertiary based setting.Eye (London, England) · 2024Article
- Providing capacity in glaucoma care using trained and accredited optometrists: A qualitative evaluation.Eye (London, England) · 2024Article
- Barriers to the Diagnosis and Management of Keratoconus Among Optometrists in Kenya.Clinical optometry · 2024Article
- Integration of Refractive Services Provided by Optometrists into the Portuguese National Health Service.Portuguese journal of public health · 2023Article
- An analysis of glaucoma repeat measures assessment results: Are core competencies enough?Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2022Article
- Scope of practice of optometrists working in the UK Hospital Eye Service: Second national survey.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeAs the landscape in ophthalmology and related commissioning continues to change, there is a pressing need to re-evaluate the current scope of practice of hospital optometrists working within secondary care in the UK. We aim to establish if the skills or services delivered by optometrists have changed to meet varying demands, and to better understand what changes in practice may have arisen as a result of COVID-19.
methodA survey developed from that used in 2015 was disseminated to 129 optometry Hospital Eye Service (HES) leads in September 2020, including questions on department workforce; core services; extended roles; procedures undertaken within extended roles; level of autonomy; arrangements for prescribing; training and accreditation, and service changes in response to COVID-19.
resultsNinety responses were received (70% response rate) from within England (76%), Scotland (22%) and Northern Ireland (2%). Whole time equivalents within units ranged from 0.4-79.2 (median of 2.5). In comparison to the 2015 survey, there was an increase in the proportion of units delivering extended roles, with glaucoma (88%) remaining the most common extended role, and new areas of practice in uveitis (21%) and vitreoretinal (13%) services. There was increased use of independent prescribing (67%) in comparison to 18% in 2015 and there was an increase in optometrists delivering laser interventions. In response to COVID-19, optometrists were increasingly delivering telephone consultations and there were new collaborations between primary and secondary care.
conclusionsOptometrists' scope of practice continues to develop in the HES with an increased variety of roles and an apparent increase in the number of units employing optometrists, often working in roles historically performed by medical practitioners. Such changes appear necessary in recovery and transformation within ophthalmology, alongside wider optometry changes arising at the interface of primary and secondary care.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.