Opticians in Scotland to focus on breaking bad news to paitents

THEY look into our eyes and sometimes see bad news. High street opticians are now being trained in how to break it to patients gently.

The NHS in Scotland has started a new nationwide programme to teach bedside manners to optometrists, the health workers whose sophisticated equipment can both measure eyesight and risks of serious diseases like brain cancer and diabetes.

Trainers from Glasgow Caledonian University, which is delivering the programme for the NHS, are due to start the scheme this week in Ayr but aim to cover the entire country by March of next year.

They will focus on teaching how to deliver bad news and how to handle people with learning difficulties.

Nadia Northway, a senior lecturer at Glasgow Caley, said: "This particular series of workshops concentrates on communication and practical clinical skills."

The university is the only one in Scotland to train opticians.

Opticians have to refer any condition that could threaten life or sight to a specialist. But they also have to explain to their patients why. And that is a lot harder than just telling people they might need new glasses.

The training programme is funded by NHS Education for Scotland. In a separate move, Glasgow Caledonian is also starting a new postgraduate course to allow opticians to prescribe for eye conditions such as glaucoma that previously had to be referred to eye hospitals.

Course organiser Gunter Loffler said: "Glasgow Caledonian was the first university in the UK to offer such a programme implementing recent legislative changes which recommend that general prescribing should be extended to certain non-medical professions, including optometrists.

"The aim is to make better use of the skills of health professionals and, in turn, to provide patients with quicker access to treatment."