01 April 2021

FODO Ireland member update – 1 April

This week:

• Office hours and support - Easter and bank holiday weekend
• CKCH to lead way in children's eye care
• ICO promotes importance of routine sight tests
• CORU updates

Office hours and support - Easter and bank holiday weekend

FODO Ireland will close at 6 pm today and reopen on Tuesday 6 April at 9am.

Members can still access the support they need over the bank holiday by emailing [email protected] where the on-call team will pick up any request. 

CKCH to lead way in children's eye care

Cork Kerry Community Healthcare (CKCH) says it will implement recommendations set out in the Primary Care Eye Services Review Group Report, with a new scheme where children over the age of eight are discharged to their local optometrist.

Children who are aged eight and under 12 or still in primary school, have stable refractive error, no other abnormality, are orthophoric or have a stable deviation, will be managed in primary care by optometrists.

Garvan Mulligan, FODO Ireland Chair and optometrist said: "FODO Ireland has long called for equality in access to eye care for every child. This change is long overdue, and although we still have to clarify some details about how the scheme will work, it presents a major opportunity to improve children's eye health. It will help ensure children receive timely access to care and also free up capacity in the HSE Community Eye Clinic so children at highest risk of amblyopia have the best chance of maximising their visual development."

Members operating in CKCH should have received a memorandum dated 24 March which provides more detailed information on the scheme. FODO Ireland is reviewing the announcement and will keep members up to date with developments. 

ICO promotes importance of routine sight tests

Garvan Mulligan, FODO Ireland Chair, has welcomed the Irish College of Ophthalmologist (ICO) raising the importance of regular eye examinations as a way to ensure glaucoma is detected early and avoidable sight loss prevented. Read more. 

CORU updates

CORU is inviting expressions of interest for optometrists to join its Panel of Assessors for the Optical Registration Board and a dispensing optician to join the Appeals Committee.

CORU's Optical Registration Board Continuing Professional Development (CPD) audit will continue as planned and will start on 1 April 2021. If you are selected for an audit you will be notified by email from [email protected]. CORU has also produced a What is CPD? video.

In our 26 February update, we said optometrists would be asked to support the vaccination programme. The HSE is now working with optometrists, including a member nominated by FODO Ireland, to create a training programme for optometrists. The HSE aims to publish the training materials soon and will share these with applicants. If you are still interested in applying, read the vaccinator requirement FAQs.

Don't forget to claim tax relief on your CORU retention fee. CORU has reminded registrants that they can claim tax relief (at 20%) against their annual retention fee. Learn more.

CORU's 2021 registration statistics show there are now 905 optometrists and 206 dispensing opticians registered in Ireland.

Paul Arthur Hersee has been re-appointed as a representative practising in the profession.