We are seeking a primarily desk-based analysis of international comparisons with countries where refraction and eye health checks are not carried out by the same person (as would normally be the case in a sight test carried out in the UK), to inform our work on possible reform of the Opticians Act 1989 ('the Act') and associated GOC policies. This will involve designing and conducting the research, analysing the findings, and producing a report.
The aim of the research is to:
learn more about eye health models in countries where the refraction and eye health checks are not carried out by the same person (even where one person takes responsibility for both processes);
compare avoidable sight loss rates in those countries with the UK's rates of avoidable sight loss and analyse the reasons for the differences in rates; and
obtain an up to date figure (and costs) of avoidable sight loss in the UK.
We are seeking a market research agency to conduct an annual quantitative survey of GOC business registrants. The GOC's register contains nearly 3,000 businesses which provide services such as performing the sight test / eye examination and sell spectacles, contact lenses and other optical appliances.
A draft questionnaire has been developed and this will need to be refined, but the main tasks for the agency will be carrying out the fieldwork, analysing the findings, and producing a written report and associated outputs.
Sight testing models vary across the UK. Technology is evolving and models are developing where parts of the sight test are carried out remotely from the patient and sometimes different elements are carried out by different people in different places and/or at different times.
We are seeking clinical and regulatory expert advice to:
1) develop a risk-based framework to understand the risks of the different elements of a sight test not being carried out at the same time, by the same person and/or in the same place; and
2) identify possible viable methodologies considering factors like cost, time and sampling considerations that would test the risk-based framework in a real-world situation with patients.
See the full invitation to tender for more information: https://optical.org/en/about-us/get-involved/tenders/
Please send tenders and direct any questions to Marie Bunby (Policy Manager) by email to mbunby@optical.org
The deadline for tenders is 10am on 2 November 2023.